Captain N: The Virtual Champion - Rise Of A Hero
by Inked Roots Productions
Summary: The Virtual Universe is in dire peril with attacks upon and within the Realms increasing every day and with the Kingdom of Nexus in the middle of it. But the sudden arrival of a young woman from the sky might bring much needed hope. Yet a dark conspiracy dwells within the Kingdom that can threaten everything. Will a new Virtual Champion rise up or will it be too late?
1. Introduction

Hello and welcome to Captain N: The Virtual Champion! In this series, it's a somewhat different take on the cartoon, with the characters looking and acting like how they should have in comparison to the cartoon. There will be a number of Nintendo characters both old and new, friends and foes, along with a few indie game characters, but I can't say who'll be featured. As for the original characters of the show, they'll be featured but with new or altered names. As for main character, lets say that this Captain N is completely new from the ground up. Apart from basing this on the somewhat maligned cartoon of the same name, I was inspired by various shows like Doctor Who, Star Vs The Forces of Evil, Transformers, Darkwing Duck and various 80's cartoons. As for the tone of the show, it's gonna be more character driven, action packed and significantly darker. Hopefully this series will give you the type of series that the original cartoon should've been like. I hope you'll enjoy this!


	2. Chapter 1

_The Virtual Realms; worlds of various lands, life and culture scattered throughout an electronic universe. As with most worlds, the Realms have their fair share of successes and misfortunes; mainly involving the on-going conflicts between the heroes and villains. Only a very few have remained untouched by the ravages of conflict and strife. The largest of the Realms was the one virtually in the centre of all them; a Realm known as the Kingdom Nexus. While the Realms have a number of rouges, scoundrels and ne'er-do-wells to cause trouble, names like Bowser of the Koopa Kingdom, the Demon King Ganondorf, the lord of the vampires Dracula, the Dark Magician known as Validar and the insidious Mother Brain have started to crop up with alarming frequency._

_Worst of all were new upcoming villains of the Realms that seemed to appear like a bolt from the blue, as if they were biding their time and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Though the heroes of the Realms and the forces of the Kingdom of Nexus have now and again repelled the assaults, the Royal Council are coming to the conclusion that should the forces of evil ever unite and launch an invasion upon the Kingdom of Nexus, the harmony of the Realms would yield to discord and the Virtual universe would fall to destruction and anarchy. But there was hope. For should there comes a time of great peril and tribulation, the Virtual Spirits will summon an individual to become a hero that will restore balance within the Realms. A Virtual Champion with the title of Captain N..._

* * *

The Kingdom of Nexus occupied a vast swathe of land, stretching from the beach of the south to the mountains of the north. Forests and plains formed the main land of Nexus, with small villages and cerulean rivers and lakes adorning them. A set of woods to the west was shrouded in a thick indigo mist or fog, giving it an air of mystery and foreboding. Pure white snow covered the tips of the mountains, almost gleaming in the sunlight. Stationed within the depths of the mountains were a pair of power plants, whose generators provided the tremendous power to create a force field to protect the Kingdom from any attack from high above. In the centre of the kingdom in the shape of a rough circle was a city; advanced, thriving and prosperous, made up of various inhabitants from other Realms. A long ancient stone wall stretched from the west to the east, circling around the Kingdom of Nexus like a protective hoop. Standing directly in the centre of the city was a mighty marble white and sky blue palace. Ornate towers and spires stood tall and proud, scraping against the sky with ease. Faint wisps of ethereal turquoise light swirled and danced from the very tips of the towers and spires. On the surface, the Kingdom of Nexus seems tranquil and peaceful, but if one were to have a closer look, the situation is anything but peaceful...especially within the palace walls.

Queen Alana stared forlornly at her kingdom from the open balcony of a spire, her brown eyes taking in the supposedly tranquil sight in front of her. She was a woman who looked to be in her early thirties with mid length brown hair and fair skin. Though in reality, she was a bit older than she looked. She wore an ornate blue and white top where the sleeves ended at her elbows and the lowest parts left a small V shaped gap. Around her hips and trailing down to her feet was a white skirt with light blue accents and markings embroidered on it. A set of velvet white gauntlets adorned her hands and forearms, holding a silver staff with a large sapphire at the top. Around her neck and on top of her head were a silver necklace and a tiara, both holding a sapphire stone similar to the one on her staff. To any visitor, Queen Alana looked like a genuinely benevolent ruler that could do no wrong. But underneath it stood an indecisive individual consumed by guilt and self-doubt.

Queen Alana's ascent to the throne of the Nexus Palace didn't came to be in jovial circumstances. Her father, King Carolus had transcended from the living to be one with the Virtual Spirits, sacrificing his physical body in the process. It was from that moment on wards that Alana turned from being a princess into a queen, tasked with maintaining the Kingdom of Nexus and taking her place within the Nexus High Council. Though the other council members and a selection of friends had helped her along with her new role, Queen Alana had found herself second guessing her actions and decisions, believing herself to be too young for the role of Queen. Now with reports of insurrections and attacks from the various Realms coming in on an almost weekly basis, the strains of responsibility felt like a lead weight on her shoulders.

Queen Alana sighed and closed her eyes at the mere thought of the very concept of the Virtual Champion, bringing back both pleasant and unpleasant memories of the previous Captain N. Back when she was in her mid-to-late teens and just a princess, Queen Alana had met a seventeen year old American man named Maddox, who would take up the mantle of Captain N. During his time as the Virtual Champion, Maddox had proven himself as a stalwart ally, a skilled battler and a cunning warrior. Though she didn't want to admit it back then, Queen Alana had developed feelings for Maddox for his bravery, valour and good looks. She can remember the times where she nearly swooned at the sight of his handsome face, his messy brown hair, his sparkling green eyes and his charming smile; almost the epitome of an all-American hero. She can remember the times when Maddox participated in some of the greatest battles ever known; such as the Great Robot Master Rebellion, the Long Night of Dracula, the Underworld Uprising, the Metroid Gambit and much more. In all of them, she had been on the field with Maddox along with the super fighting robot known as Mega Man, Simon Belmont the vampire slayer, the angelic fighter known as Pit, the hero of Hyrule known as Link and the Mushroom Kingdom's saviour known as Mario.

Then the nostalgia faded and the bad memories came to the fore, making Queen Alana scrunch her eyes shut as if to prevent tears from forming. She had witnessed first-hand on what happens when someone gets full of oneself. As Maddox's skill and power grew within a space of nine years, so did his ego. It was almost so bad that it alienated his closet allies. At first, Queen Alana lived in denial about Maddox's attitude, but then her father had brought the issue to the fore and it became too serious to ignore. She recalled what King Carolus had said to her long ago.

'_Sometimes, there has to be necessary evils within the Realms; a driving factor for the heroes to exist. Without it, the inhabitants would become complacent and their society would stagnate and decay. Worst case scenario, they'll be unable to progress and to adapt to any form of disaster. It is true that we and Captain N have a duty to uphold peace and order within the Realms and I do not dispute that for a moment. But with Maddox...he's too powerful a drug to be used for more than just the occasional medicine. His arrogance blinds him and I fear that he'll become the very thing he swore to fight against. He's becoming more of a warrior than a saviour; living only to fight and conquer rather than fighting to protect. Should all of his enemies be gone, then who else is he going to fight?_'

Queen Alana remembered the moment when King Carolus 'relieved' Maddox of his duties as Captain N by sending him back to the real world. For a while, she was angry towards her father for exiling Maddox and stripping his power away. But shortly after becoming Queen, she began to see where her father was coming from with his reservations about Maddox, especially with the state of affairs at the time. Then one day, to everyone's surprise, Maddox managed to return to Nexus after ten long years away and he was almost unrecognizable. He was back then in his mid-thirties, his brown hair was short and thinning, dark marks had formed around his eyes and he carried an air of world-weariness about him.

Though he wasn't allowed to have the power of being Captain N again, Queen Alana had granted him asylum in hopes to maintain the friendship that they had. Nowadays, Maddox had confined himself within his laboratory, working on with whatever project takes his fancy, only interacting with Queen Alana and the Nexus High Council when necessary. Discussions between the former Virtual Champion and the Queen were no longer heartfelt and cordial, but terse and matter-of-fact, signalling their rather rocky relationship in front of any witnesses. And so it went on for another ten years within the Palace; the tense arguments between an embittered former Champion and the Queen along with the High Council, whilst all around them chaos and conflict prevailed within the Realms.

The young queen opened her eyes and let out a deep sigh, as if attempting to relieve any stress building up inside her. How long she stood on the balcony overlooking her kingdom in melancholic silence, she had no way of knowing. Her eyes looked up at the sky, as if looking for a sign of hope or a miracle. Patches of white square shaped clouds slowly floated along the light blue canvas with the sun shining down upon the world like a bright white disc. She turned her gaze to the clouds gathering near the mountains in the distance. Queen Alana was about to turn and walk away when it suddenly happened. A sudden bright flash exploded in the sky behind the clouds and they parted as if blown away by a powerful wind. From within emerged a blue-white object, hurtling towards the ground like a comet. Queen Alana gasped with surprise as she watched it travel through the sky and descending towards a set of ruins off in the distance, just outside the city limits. With new found adrenaline coursing through her, the Queen raced out of the room and headed towards the meeting chambers.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the walkway of the ancient wall, two humanoid beings were walking casually as if out on a stroll. Both looked human, but their faces looked static and still most of the time; only changing for when the appropriate emotion calls for it. They were part of a race called Miis; pure virtual human beings native within a vast majority of the Realms. One of them was a male with black hair and eyes and the other was a female with shortish brown hair and hazel eyes.

"I tell you, it'll be a matter of time before we start to get various vagabonds and riff-raff within our kingdom." said the male Mii.

"Harris, it's not going to happen!" said the female Mii firmly, "If it were, we would've been informed by now and we'd have more patrols out on the streets!"

"That's because it's already happening and they're keeping it under wraps." Harris argued, "Face it Cynthia, the troubles in the other Realms are spreading all throughout and Nexus is next in line."

"Would you keep your paranoia to yourself?!" snapped Cynthia, "You'll cause a panic and that's the last thing that Queen Alana needs right now!"

"Why? Is it because I'm honest?" said Harris, "There is one golden rule I've learned to abide by over the years; always tell the truth!"

"Yeah, and that's been working like a real charm, hasn't it?" said Cynthia, "Here's some free advice for you: if you want other Miis to perform well? Tell them what they want to hear and give them hope. In other words, don't mention anything doom and gloom related!"

"You mean lie to them?" said Harris, almost appalled, "Huh! Typical propaganda! Always trying to sweep the major issue under the rug to keep the status quo going! I mean, we can't exactly wait around for a miracle to happen can we?!"

Harris was met with silence. He faced Cynthia and noticed her looking over his shoulder and up in the sky.

"Cynthia? What you looking at?" he asked.

"Up there." said Cynthia, pointing upwards, "Something's coming out of the sky! Something hot!"

Harris turned around and his mouth hung open with surprise. A blue-white comet was heading towards near them, trailing smoke behind it.

"Quick! Get down!" cried Harris, pulling Cynthia down beside him.

They crouched with their hands over their heads, bracing themselves for an impact from the falling item. Harris glanced upwards and saw it shot over past their heads. The sound wave that followed after it passed nearly knocked both Miis off their feet. Regaining their composure, Harris and Cynthia peered over the edge of the wall and saw the smoke trail leading towards a set of ruins half a mile away from the wall. Suddenly, there was a low **'KRUMP!'** as the object crash landed on the ground, kicking up earth and smoke in the air. The two Mii's looked at each other in amazement from what they've just witnessed.

"What was that?" asked Harris.

"I don't know." said Cynthia, "But I'm gonna find out!"

Before he could stop her, Cynthia leaped from the wall, landed on the ground and started running towards where the object crashed. With an exasperated groan, Harris jumped over the wall onto the ground and ran after Cynthia.

A short while later, the two Mii's arrived at the crash site. The ruins were almost destroyed completely from the crash, rubble strewn in all directions. In the centre stood what appeared to be a capsule. It was over two metres tall, roughly rectangular in shape and looked almost indigo in colour. The two Mii's took slow careful steps towards it, both apprehensive and curious about the strange object.

"What do you think is it?" asked Cynthia.

"I don't know." Harris answered, "Probably a capsule. One thing is for certain; it's definitely not a bomb. It's the wrong shape and it came in far too fast in the air."

"An escape pod from a ship perhaps?" Cynthia queried.

"Could be." said Harris, "Question is, who or what's inside it?"

As if to answer him, the front of the capsule swing open outwards suddenly. Then a figure fell out of the capsule and forwards onto the ground. The two Mii's flinched with fright and stayed where they were, unsure on what to do next. The fallen figure groaned and slowly raised its head. To the Miis' surprise, the occupant was a young woman in her very late teens. She had mid-length auburn hair, green eyes and fair skin. Her clothes were tattered and frayed, as if she had been through a disaster or a fierce fight. A trickle of blood ran from a corner of her mouth and her face looked scuffed and lightly bruised. Her eyes betrayed the amount of pain she was in. The young woman managed to prop herself up on one arm and stretched out the other in a pleading manner. Her mouth moved slowly as she spoke in a pained voice.

"..Pl...please...help..."

Harris and Cynthia looked at each other, clearly dumbfounded to see a possible 'off-worlder' in need of help after a crash landing.

"..Help me...please...help me..." the young woman croaked, her voice sporting a British accent.

Unable to bear it, Cynthia rushed forwards to the prone woman and had her arms around her to help her up. The female Mii shot Harris an urgent look.

"Get help now!" she barked.

Not wishing to argue with her, Harris ran off to find any source of help. Cynthia turned to face the young woman, wiping the blood away with her sleeve,

"It's okay. Help's on its way." she assured, "What's your name?"

The young woman glanced at Cynthia, looking somewhat curious to the Miis' appearance. Her vision started to swim and her head became heavy. With all of her effort, she managed to give out her name before passing out from the pain and shock.

"...K...Kee...va..."

* * *

Meanwhile at the Nexus Palace, the whole place was nearly in an uproar. Word of a mysterious object appearing from the sky and crashing into the ruins had spread fast within the Kingdom. Queen Alana was strolling through the corridors of the Palace, taking in reports from left, right and centre; some of them consistent and some weren't. Lately, there were reports of the object containing a person inside it. Before she had time to compile all the reports together, the sound of footsteps racing towards her rang out, making her turn around on the spot. Coming towards her was a young man that looked to be thirteen years old and with a pair of white wings behind his back. He had large blue eyes, fluffy brown hair and a gold laurel crown on top. He wore a white chiton with red and gold hems along the bottom, fastened on the shoulder by a golden fibula with a red gem in the centre. Underneath the chiton, he wore navy blue tights. A pair of bronze and gold cuffs adorned his forearms and singular gold rings on his upper left arm and right thigh. His brown sandals were decorated with crossing beige bands, and edged at the top with white wool. The angel like being skidded to a halt in front the Queen and bowed, huffing and panting for breath.

"Forgive me your highness," he said breathlessly, "but the High Council has been assembled in the conference room. They await for your arrival."

"Thank you Pit." Queen Alana sighed, "I'll be there as soon as I can. Is everyone accounted for?"

"All except Lady Palutena." said Pit, "She's currently investigating various activities within Nexus and its neighbouring Realms. She suspects that the Underworld Army might have made themselves known."

"I see. Looks like we'll have to start the meeting without her." said Alana, the strain of the day starting to get to her, "Should there be anything new in terms of reports, let me know as soon as you can."

"Will do your Highness!" said Pit, saluting to her.

Queen Alana smiled wearily and made her way towards the conference room. Normally, Pits' upbeat and peppy attitude would have brightened her day and mood, but in the recent times it did little to ease her worries. The sounds of her footsteps echoed throughout the long corridors of the Palace. Notes of dust danced and shimmered in the sunbeams from the tall windows. Alana remembered the days when she was younger and used to run and play hide-and-seek in amongst the curtains, tapestries and various suits of armour. There were times when she wished that she can turn back time and relive the 'good old days' of innocence and charm. But ever since she became Queen, Alana had to quash such notions and fantasies, mentally dismissing them as 'needless wishful thinking'.

Alana rounded a corner and came across a set of tall double doors. Standing guard at them was human sized robot of a unique design. It was primarily cream in colour and had a small rectangular box like head with two glass lenses for eyes. Its blocky 'chest' featured two red coloured arms with clamps for hands. The chassis was a blocky flexible and segmented tube with small lights on the side. At the bottom of the chassis was a rough hexagonal shaped base with a thick telephone cord like attachment going from behind the base and connecting to the back of the chest. The Queen recognised it as the Robotic Operating Buddy, or R.O.B for short. R.O.B turned to face Alana and spoke in a semi-grating metallic voice. A small light on top of its head flashed and blinked in unison of its words.

"THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AWAIT FOR YOUR ARRIVAL." it announced.

"Open the doors R.O.B. Best not keep them waiting any longer." said Alana, readying to present herself to the Council.

"I OBEY." R.O.B grated.

The robot pressed a button on the wall with its clamp like hand and the double doors swing open inwards. Queen Alana stepped forwards into a vast chamber. A large blue crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, glinting in the sunlight like sapphire. On the walls were eight human sized mirrors that seemed to shimmer and ripple like a pond on a slightly windy day. In the centre was large oval shaped marble table with eight ornately designed chairs around it. Six of them were occupied by a member of the Nexus High Council.

One of them was Rosalina of the Mushroom Kingdom. She was tall woman with pale skin is paler, light blue eyes and platinum blonde hair that reached to her waist. A large bang of her hair obscured her right eye. Rosalina wore a teal coloured regal looking gown with silver brooch and a silver crown on her head. A thin silver wand with a golden star at the top sat idly in her hand.

In another chair sat a young woman with long golden blonde hair and mid blue eyes and dressed in a white and pink dress with gold details. She wore a gold tiara with a magenta gem in the centre and gold pauldrons adorned her shoulders. Around her waist was a dark pink and gold belt with metal tassels. Her forearms were covered by ornate gold armbands and pair of brown leather boots covered her feet. The woman was none other than Princess Zelda of the Kingdom of Hyrule. Despite having a youthful look about her, Zelda was in fact a wise and compassionate ruler in her Realm.

Next to Zelda sat an oldish humanoid hound dog in a distinctive red, gold and black military attire and officer's peaked cap. The occupant was known as General Pepper of Corneria. His uniform was also decorated with multiple rank badges and medals of valour, including a pin of the Cornerian Army logo. Despite his somewhat wizened appearance, General Pepper still maintained the authority and charisma that he was known for throughout Corneria.

Sitting next to General Pepper was a tall male human with blue eyes, thick white hair and a long white beard and looked somewhat overweight. He wore a white lab coat with a white shirt, a light brown vest and a blue tie. He wore a pair of red trousers and brown shoes. The man was known as Doctor Thomas Light; a Realm famous robotics engineer and scientist, though recently retired from being the president of Light Labs.

Next to Dr. Light was the former King of Altea; a man named Marth. Marth still maintained his young, delicate yet boyish looks and shortish blue hair. Yet his mid blue eyes revealed his vast experience and wisdom. He was clad in a dark blue shirt with gold accents. A gold broach with a red gem held his dark blue cloak in place, the underside of it dark red. The pauldrons and chest armour were navy blue with gold details and a dark brown leather belt was strapped around his waist. Marth wore black trousers, a pair of mid brown boots and long black fingerless gloves. By his side was Marth's signature sword, Falchion, sheathed away within the golden scabbard.

The last member of the Council present was also the latest member. It was a female anthropomorphic cat with lavender and violet-fur, golden eyes, a small black nose and a white-furred muzzle. She had triangular ears and a long tail with the dark purple end frayed. Her fur was longer on each side of her head and she had four plumes of hair with dark purple tips done up in a high ponytail by a red hair tie. A red oval gem adorned her forehead. She wore a purple, flared coat with coattails, a dark pink hemline and gold collar. A pair of white tights covered her legs. She also wore a pair of white gloves with fuzzy cuffs and high heeled, dark pink shoes with white stripes and fuzzy cuffs, like her gloves. She was the Princess Regent of the Sol Dimension known as Blaze the Cat.

Queen Alana bowed her head towards the members of the High Council as a sign of respect and took her seat at the head of the table. Across on the opposite side of the table was the empty seat where the Goddess of Light, Palutena, would've sat. R.O.B pressed a button on the control panel and the doors closed, leaving the Council to commence their meeting.

"Nexus High Council is now in session." intoned Queen Alana, "The current affairs within the Kingdom and a vast majority of the Realms have become rather turbulent. Reports of the usual suspects in our rouges gallery are coming up with alarming frequency."

"I regret to report that Bowser and his Koopa Troop had been causing more trouble in the Mushroom Kingdom." said Rosalina, "His recent attempt of conquest involved stealing the Star Rod from Star Haven and imprisoning the Star Spirits. Fortunately, Mario and Luigi managed to rescue the Star Spirits and defeat Bowser. But the bad news is that Princess Peach has lost another castle in the process."

"That's the fourth one in two months." Queen Alana sighed, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Hyrule hasn't had any further trouble from Ganondorf," Zelda informed, "but I have a strong feeling that he's gathering his forces together for another attempt at the Hyrule Palace and perhaps the other pieces of the Triforce. The Champions of Hyrule are maintaining vigilance, but I'm certain that resurgence from Ganondorf is inevitable."

"The only trouble within the Lylat System is the Anglar Empire." said General Pepper, "Nevertheless, I strongly suspect that Andross might be behind it in one way or another."

"There has been an increase of monster and dark magic cultist activity within Altea." Marth commented, "My successor, Chrom, has been trying to keep it all in check, but I fear that Validar might make things more difficult for him."

"Regardless of the way these reports are coming in," said Dr Light, "the common fact is that their crimes and acts of terrorism are becoming bigger and more brazen. It'll only be a matter of time before either one of them threatens the sanctity of the Kingdom of Nexus."

"Or worse still, should they decide to unite as one and try to conquer Nexus." Blaze said gravely.

"I know that the Kingdom of Nexus has the Mii-power to lend assistance to the other Realms," Marth responded, "but it would stretch the forces out thin and there might not be enough to defend the Palace."

"But we can't leave the heroes of the Realm unaided or worse defenceless!" Zelda countered, "Should any one of them fall, others would follow and it'll be like a domino effect!"

"Perhaps there might be another solution." said Queen Alana after a moment, "There was a report of an object falling from the sky and a person was alleged to be found and recovered from the fallen object."

"Are saying that we could be gaining a new Virtual Champion?" asked Rosalina.

"I'm not saying that for definite." Alana admitted, "But since things are getting more chaotic, I believe that the time for a new Captain N is upon us, to help tip the balance."

"And where exactly is this supposed 'person from the sky'?" Blaze inquired.

"The last report I heard regarding to him or her," Alana answered, "is that he or she's been taken into a local settlement outside the city. The object that the person was in had crash landed into the ruins earlier today. I know it seems like a longshot, but I holding on to hope that it might be our new Virtual Champion."

"You do realise that Maddox would not like this at all." said Dr. Light in a cautionary tone.

"You leave Maddox to me." assured the Queen, "Even though he's no longer Captain N, he's my responsibility and we need all the allies that we can get, especially in these trying times.."

* * *

Out in the corridors, Maddox was strolling towards his laboratory, the bottom of his lab coat trailing behind him. His face was etched in a deep frown, causing wrinkles to appear on his previously boyish features. He had the look and appearance of a man in a perpetual midlife crisis; desperately trying to cling on to what was left of his youth and glory by any means, even though he was forty-six years old. In the recent times, the reports of attacks in the other Realms and the suffering that followed was starting to wear him down heavily, almost to the point of depression. Maddox had been wracking his brains for a solution to end the conflicts and suffering in his spare time, but was hesitant to bring them up to Queen Alana for fear of his ideas getting shot down by her and the High Council. In the space of a few years, Maddox had invented three new items for use; a more updated version of the Light-Gun, a remote like device that can reveal a sword like blade when activated and a pair of high-tech fingerless gloves that can turn into high powered gauntlets by simply by snapping ones' fingers. Yet Maddox felt little pride for his creations, seeing them as just trinkets to save himself from getting bored.

Maddox turned a corner and saw the doors of his laboratory, the closest thing that he ever had to a home within the Palace. As he was about to approach it, a sudden flash of blue light emanated from the space underneath the door. A noise akin to a soft thunderclap rang out and another flash of light happened. Maddox froze in his tracks and then ran towards the door. Whatever was going on, it was happening inside his own laboratory. Maddox struggled with the lock on the door briefly before he finally flung the doors open. Maddox's laboratory was a large room with tables containing equipment, tools and resources. In one corner of the room was a set of tubes containing his inventions, suspended in a shallow energy field.

His green eyes scanned the room, trying to find anything amiss. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Something had happened within his lab and there was something wrong there, but he couldn't quite see what it was. Maddox glanced at the tubes containing his inventions and his blood froze. He rushed towards the tubes and came to a tube with the words 'Neo-Switch Gloves' written at the bottom. But what he saw was an empty tube. The Neo-Switch Gloves were gone!


	3. Chapter 2

Within the depths of her unconscious mind, Keeva found herself floating in a realm of inky darkness. Time and reality seemed to slow down and move in a blur at the same time. The silence was almost deafening; the type that would drive any mortal person insane for prolonged periods of time. Keeva wondered if she was approaching the threshold of death for her to be in this state. How long she remained in this state of limbo, Keeva had no way of knowing. Suddenly, Keeva started to hear whispering upon the still air. They sounded like ghosts floating from one place to another. Keeva looked around for the source of the voices, but they seemed to come from all around her.

"H-hello? Who's there?" she called out nervously.

As if in response, the ghostly voices became more coherent to her ears. They all seemed to calling her name in breathy whispers, which made Keeva shiver. Her eyes darted from side to side with growing fear.

"Wha-what do you want with me?!" she whimpered.

Almost immediately the whispering stopped, the silence falling upon Keeva like a thick shroud. She looked around, almost astonished at the possibility of scaring off a couple of 'ghosts' with her voice alone. Yet she couldn't help the feeling that a strange presence was with her.

"****Keeva..****" came a deep booming voice from all around her.

The young woman visibly twitched with fright and looked around her. Like the ghostly whispers, the new voice seemed to come from everywhere yet nowhere at the same time. The voice sounded sonorous but with warmth and reassurance.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" she managed, feeling she's in the presence of some unknown and unseen god.

"****Do not fear Keeva.****" the voice answered, sounding like a bohemian, "****You gave out your name before you've blacked out earlier. As for who I am, well, that's a little bit tricky.****"

"Like how?" asked Keeva.

"****You see, I have no physical form to comprehend.****" said the voice, "****That's the problem when you've transcended as a Virtual Spirit; though you can traverse the ethereal plane and walk through eternity with ease, but you can never indulge the finer things in life, like playing chess, eating all sorts of cheese and having a glass of the finest wine. Ramblings aside, I'm known as Atarius.****"

Keeva decided that this voice was either slightly mad or incredibly eccentric, but his manner was certainly friendly and informative. Yet, her head was abuzz with the new information being addressed to her. Keeva mentally pictured herself as Alice in a very different version of Wonderland. Like Alice, Keeva was naturally curious and always wanting to learn more about the world around her. Throughout her life, Keeva saw herself as an explorer or an adventurer, always wanting to visit or discover new sights and sounds.

"I know this is going to sound cliché," she said, "and I can't believe how corny this is going to sound, but...what exactly happened?"

There was a brief silence before the entity known as Atarius answered.

"****Hmmm...it would appeared that you've been caught within a Virtual warp hole from your own reality. You are now within the Virtual universe and took a bit of a knock during your landing.****"

"But why am I here though?" asked Keeva, trying hard to make sense of it all.

"****It would appear that you have been chosen for something.****" said Atarius, "****I imagine it's something very important for the Virtual Spirits to have selected you to appear within this Realm.****"

"Chosen?" Keeva echoed, "Chosen for what? Did you have any part in this?"

"****No, not me I'm afraid.****" said Atarius apologetically, "****You see, I'm somewhat of a wayward Spirit. I tend to keep myself to myself, only getting involved when necessary. If I know the Virtual Spirits and the fact that they have chosen you, it would mean that things are pretty bad within the Realms of the Virtual universe.****"

Before Keeva could get another question in, she saw a bright glare appear above her in her peripheral vision. She looked upwards and shielded her eyes from the bright light. Then she felt herself staring to slowly float towards the light.

"Wha-what's happening?" she called in alarm.

"****Ah, it would appear that you're regaining consciousness.****" Atarius replied, "****Such a shame really. You were most pleasant company.****"

Keeva tried to 'swim' in the air to remain where she was, but her ascent seemed to gain more momentum, almost as if some invisible puppet master was pulling her upwards in a careful fashion.

"No! Wait!" she cried, "Please, I want to know more!"

"****I imagine you will, but this time on your own.****" said Atarius sympathetically, "****I'm confident that we'll meet again soon. But for now, take care out there Keeva.****"

Keeva flailed her arms desperately, but the light seemed to engulf her whole body, almost blinding her. She reached out a hand, hoping that someone or something would grasp it and pull her. But it was an exercise in futility. Her heart sank from being denied of knowing the full picture of how she came to be in a new world entirely. The last thing she saw before the light filled her vision was the retreating darkness becoming evermore distant and beyond her grasp. In desperation, she screamed out one last echoing plea.

"NO! PLEASE! ****ATARIUS!****"

* * *

Keeva woke up with a start and gasping for breath in a semi lit room. She sat up right sharply and scrunched her eyes shut as her vision swam. She grimaced and placed her hands on her temples, trying to ease the throbbing headache and the feeling of nausea welling up inside her. Her chest heaved up and down as she calmed herself. Keeva felt the cold sweat underneath her fingers and shivered, feeling like she had woken up from a nightmare. Her thoughts turned to what happened earlier. Did she really experience that conversation in a realm of darkness? Or was a dream brought on by her unfocussed mind? She probably never find out the answer. Carefully she opened her eyes and blinked a few times to clear her vision.

Keeva found herself within a small bedroom with a large window covered by a set of blinds. She slowly swung her legs off the bed and stood up unsteadily on her feet. Some parts of her ached and throbbed with pain, but she was happy to be alive. The young woman licked her dry lips and felt a slight coppery taste on her tongue. Looking around, Keeva saw a mirror on one side of the room and staggered towards it. When she got close enough to it, Keeva let out a slight gasp. One side of her face was bruised and dried blood formed at one side of her mouth. Her auburn hair was in a mess, clinging to her face in places and sticking up at the top. Keeva wore a pair of dark grey jeans, a purple grey t-shirt and a blue-purple jacket, all were scuffed and tattered from the crash landing. In short, Keeva was a physical wreck.

The young woman sighed and staggered towards the window. Lightly pulling on the cord at the side, Keeva scrunched her eyes from the glare of daylight outside until they got used to it. When vision cleared, Keeva saw what appeared to be a farmland. A makeshift barn stood in one corner whilst a ploughed field took up most of the view. Patches of grass swayed gently in the breeze. Clouds that looked oddly square shaped floated in the cerulean blue sky above. Keeva's green eyes took in the scene and came to the conclusion that she was brought to this place to recover after she passed out. She wondered who it was that got her to this place and made a mental note to thank him or her for doing so. Keeva looked up into the sky and wondered upon what might be out there within the new universe that she's in.

A slight squeak on her right caused her to look. The door opened carefully on squeaky hinges and an old woman entered the room. The old woman was a Mii with mid grey hair, deep wrinkles on her cheeks and wearing a large pair of glasses. She wore an old farmers' outfit and had the appearance of someone enjoying their retirement whilst keeping active by farming. The old woman carried a strange item in her hands. It had the appearance of a large white bulb with a dark green bottom, light green fringes on the top of the bulb and a picture of a sprout on each side.

"Ah, I see you're awake and up and about." said the old woman.

"Where am I?" asked Keeva.

"You're in my farm cottage." the old woman replied, "You were found by two passers-by's and they came to me for help. Mind you, you were quite out of it before we even got you here. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm Lelani. What's your name child?"

"Keeva. My name's Keeva." the young woman introduced.

Lelani smiled warmly, her eyes nearly disappeared underneath deep dimples. She held out the strange bulb in her hands and planted it on the ground in front of her. The bulb unfurled and spread itself out like a flower. A circular column of green light emerged from the unfurled bulb, twinkling like miniature stars at night. Keeva was taken aback by this and eyed the circle of light warily.

"Uhhh, what is that?" she asked.

"This is a Healing Field." said Lelani, "It helps speed up the healing process when one steps inside the light. Pity it can't rewind my age by a good twenty or so years. Anyway, it's for you to step into."

"Will it hurt?" asked Keeva.

"Now why would something called a Healing Field would inflict pain on someone that it's trying to heal?" Lelani countered.

"Yeah, um...sorry. That's a fair point." said Keeva sheepishly, "It's just...everything seems all new to me. I don't what's going to happen next and all."

"It's best to take everything one step at a time my dear." said Lelani gently, "For now, step into the field before its magic runs out."

Slowly, Keeva staggered towards the pillar of green twinkling light and carefully stepped inside it. Almost immediately, she was met with a smell of the freshest and strongest mint that she had ever smelt. It seemed to fill her nostrils and lungs when she breathed it in. Keeva let out a gasp and a sigh as the healing magic washed over her. A pleasant tingling sensation came over her as she entered a state of grace and bliss. The young woman breathed in and out regularly, relishing the feelings inside the Healing Field. Keeva looked at her scuffed and grazed hands and watched with awe as she saw the scratches and bruises fade away before her eyes. The throbbing pains on parts of her body began to ebb away like a sandcastle caught up in a high tide. From the corner of her eye, Keeva saw the flakes of dried blood on her float away from her and disintegrate in the air.

She felt like she was floating gently off the ground and despite herself, closed her eyes and started to smile contently. The feeling went on for what seemed like a long time before suddenly, the green light faded and the bulb on the ground dissolved out of existence. The feeling went on for what seemed like a long time before suddenly, the green light faded and the bulb on the ground dissolved out of existence. Keeva opened her eyes and looked around as the smell of mint left her nostrils. As she breathed, she found that the slight stab of pain was no longer present. Carefully, she stretched herself and no longer felt the sharp pains in her limbs. Keeva looked over herself and a bright smile began to form on her face.

"How do you feel Keeva?" Lelani asked.

"I...I feel great!" said Keeva brightly, "It's like...I've been invigorated to the nth degree! Never felt so good for a long time!"

"That's what the Healing Field does to an injured person." said Lelani with a smile, "Anyway, once you're fully recovered, we'll give you a few pointers of where you want to go."

"For a start, I'd like to know where I can get some new clothes." said Keeva, gesturing to her tattered clothes.

"You'll have to travel to the Kingdom of Nexus for that." Lelani suggested, "It's roughly ten miles away from here and it's very modern."

Before Keeva can ask about the matter of transport and currency, there was a loud '****chug-chug-chug****' noise from outside. It sounded like the engine of an industrial vehicle. Lelani looked at outside and gasped with alarm. She then ran out of the room with surprising speed for someone so old, leaving Keeva behind.

"Hey! What is it?! What's going on?!" Keeva called, but her voice fell on deaf ears.

The young woman went to the window and looked out. She saw a very large yellow excavator parked by the barn. Columns of thick black smoke emerged from the twin exhausts at the rear of the cab. At the other end of the arm was an attachment resembling two small backhoe buckets with the 'teeth' pointing outwards. It looked like for all intend and purposes, like the jaws of some ravenous mechanical monster, waiting to rip and tear any building that it comes across. The door of the cab opened and a hulking man stepped out. He had muscular arms and a somewhat obese figure about him. He wore a pair of dark sunglasses, a grubby yellow hardhat, a dark purple t-shirt, a pair of white gloves, black overalls and brown shoes. He had a large and slightly red nose and a scruffy purple-black beard and moustache.

Accompanying him were four beings that looked identical to each other. They had the appearance of giant eggplants with black arms and legs. A black metallic face mask covered their faces, revealing only a pair of bulging eyes from underneath. Though she was a distance away and couldn't hear anything but the dull '****chug-chug-chug****' of the engine, Keeva can see the man grin and shake slightly, indicating that he was chuckling. Sensing that this man and his cronies were up to no good, Keeva pulled her jacket about herself and raced out of the room.

* * *

Foreman Spike chuckled and adjusted his sunglasses as he laid his eyes upon the barn and the cottage. He prided himself as an efficient demolition man for hire that gets the job done. But those that had the misfortune of knowing him see him as a cruel, spiteful and corrupt man that takes pleasure at destroying people's livelihoods for the sake of profit. He stroked his beard thoughtfully, the acrid smell of the excavators' exhausts filling his nostrils.

"Yeah, this is the place alright!" he cackled, "My client is gonna have ball with this place as his new home! Who knows? Maybe we'll get a little extra cash for doing the job done quickly. Well, better not waste anymore time."

Foreman Spike placed his fists on his hips as he began to bark out orders.

"Eggplant Men! Break out the hammers! We've got some renovations to carry out!"

The Eggplant Men nodded silently and went to the back of the excavator. They opened a large metal box to reveal a couple of large hammers from within. But before they can arm themselves, an irate male voice rang out.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Foreman Spike and his henchmen turned to see an old male Mii racing towards them with Lelani in tow. The old Mii, whose name was Doug, had thinning grey hair and deep set wrinkles around his face. He wore a thick outdoors coat, tattered jeans and tall rubber boots with the soles caked in mud. He was brandishing a hefty looking stave and was shaking it angrily at the trespassers.

"Ah, more unwanted baggage to get rid off." Foreman Spike murmured to himself.

He snapped his fingers and the Eggplant Men formed a barrier between him and the oncoming farmers. Doug stopped in his tracks and held his stave defensively whilst Lelani caught up to him.

"You have no right to be here!" said Doug.

"I rather think I do chump." said Foreman Spike, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket and presenting it in front of Doug.

The old Miis' eyes scanned the paper and he scowled as he saw the signature at the bottom. He glared at Foreman Spike and gripped his stave tighter.

"It smarts, don't it, buster?" said the burly man smugly, "But renovations and demolitions should hurt, especially when commissioned by wealthy clients."

"That isn't ****worth**** the paper it's printed on, you evil flint-hearted leech!" he snapped, "Do all of us a favour by taking your keister and that monstrosity of a vehicle outta here!"

"No can do I'm afraid." said Foreman Spike, replacing the paper back into his pocket, "I've gotta job to do and my client is very particular about claiming this area. Eggplant Men, we've got ourselves a stubborn one here. You know what to do."

The Eggplant Men nodded and all four advanced menacingly towards Doug and Lelani. Two of them grabbed Doug's stave and wrenched it from his hands, tossing it aside with fists raised. Lelani clung on to her husband dearly, fear in her eyes as the Eggplant Men closed in around them. The first Eggplant Man was about to grab Doug when suddenly a large stone whizzed past Doug and struck his aggressor between the eyes. It recoiled and clasped at its face in pain. Its comrades and Foreman Spike looked about in alarm.

"Hey buster! Why don't you pick on someone your own size than these two!" came a defiant female voice.

The two Miis looked behind them and the intruders looked over the farmers. There standing with a spade in both hands and in an aggressive stance was Keeva. Despite being a newcomer in a strange world, Keeva still maintained the ability to confront injustice whenever it reared its head. Foreman Spike wrinkled his oversized nose with slight disdain and folded his muscular arms.

"Well now, who do we have here? Your daughter or somethin'?" he cackled.

"She's not our daughter nor family member!" Lelani retorted.

"Makes no difference to me." said Foreman Spike callously, "Gotta teach such rebellious kids a lesson or two. Eggplant Men, sic her!"

The Eggplant Men nodded and made a beeline towards Keeva, who still held her ground despite being outnumbered. Both Doug and Lelani watched in horror as the henchmen closed in towards the young woman, both wanting to tell her to run, but couldn't find the words or voice to do so. Keeva's green eyes darted from one Eggplant Man to another, gauging their actions. She twirled the spade in her hands so the head was aiming at her body and the handle pointed outwards. She tightened her grip on the spade and widened her leg stance slightly. When the Eggplant Men got within a foot away from her with hands raised, Keeva suddenly ducked and swung the spade in a broad arc.

The handle of the spade caught the first Eggplant Man at the knee, causing it to topple over. The force and momentum of the swing swept through the rest of the Eggplant Men, knocking them down like skittles. Standing up straight and twirling the spade again, Keeva drew a deep breath. The Eggplant Man that was struck first got to its feet and lunged at her. More by accident than design, Keeva spun around and struck her attacker square in the face with the flat end of the spade. The being staggered and fell backwards from the blow. The second Eggplant Man got up and wrapped both arms around her in a bearhug, trapping both of her arms to her side. Keeva struggled to free herself, maintaining her grip on the spade. The third one got to its feet and pulled back a fist to strike her. Keeva looked up, saw the fist coming towards to her and quickly craned her neck to side. The fist brushed by her cheek and caught the Eggplant Man holding her in the face.

It grunted and staggered back, letting go of Keeva as it clutched at its face. The third Eggplant Man flinched as it realised it struck one of its comrades. Taking advantage quickly, Keeva swung the spade in a mighty arc and caught it on the side of its smooth head. The force of the blow knocked it out completely. Spinning around with the tool raised, Keeva struck the Eggplant Man that held her on top of its head. It fell forward into the dirt, just as the last one got back up. It drew a fist and punched forwards. In a panic, Keeva brought the flat square head of the spade to cover her face. There was a metallic '****CLANG!****' as the fist connected with the spade, leaving a dent in the process. The Eggplant Man withdrew its hand, waving it about in pain. Wielding it like a cricket bat, Keeva swung it upwards and struck it with such force that it was lifted clean off its feet. Unfortunately, the same amount of force had caused the wooden part of it to splinter and almost break in half. Keeva looked at the ruined spade in surprise and sheepishly called over to Doug and Lelani.

"Uhh...I'm sorry about your spade!"

The two Miis and Foreman Spike looked on in awe with what happened. But the corrupt demolition expert was the first to recover. With a growl, he entered his excavator and fired up the engine. The machine roared and belched out more foul black smoke. Doug and Lelani cried in alarm and ran to one side to escape the mechanical monstrosity. The conjoined buckets opened and closed the jaws of a hungry predator as the excavator charged towards Keeva. The young woman's eyes widened, realising that she now has something much bigger to contend with.

"Uh oh, that's not good..." she muttered, dropping the broken spade to the floor.

Foreman Spike roughly pulled and yanked at a few gear sticks. The mechanical arm bunched up and the buckets opened wide, looking like a snake about to strike.

"Time to go all wrecking crew on your butt!" he snarled, thrusting a gear stick forward.

The arm of the excavator lunged forward with a mechanical groan and the hiss of pistons. With a cry of surprise, Keeva quickly dove to one side and started to run around the machine. The jaws of the excavator bit into the earth where she was a fraction of second before. Foreman Spike growled and swung the cab around. The arm moved with it, chasing after the young woman. A quick movement of levers and gears and the arm lunged forwards again, this time blocking Keeva's way. Startled, Keeva skidded to a halt, almost crashing into the side of the metal jaws. The arm rose slightly and swung towards her, knocking her off her feet. Keeva grimaced as she landed on the ground on her back, knocking the wind out of her. Foreman Spike chuckled and pulled on a lever. The gears suddenly grinded and growled in protest. The burly man swore under his breath and slammed the side of the gearbox with a fist.

"Oh come on! Not now at a time like this!" he fumed.

Keeva heard the mechanical issues and took a moment to look at the machine over. Her eyes then spotted the opened metal box at the back and saw a couple of sturdy looking hammers inside.

'__If I can get one of them,__' she thought to herself, '__then maybe I can put it out of commission.__'

Drawing a deep breath, Keeva got to her feet and raced to the back of the machine. Foreman Spike saw her and wrestled with the gears in desperation. The groaning and grinding rang out like staccato white noise from a radio. The mechanical arm moved jerkily as it tried to chase and strike down its opponent. Keeva climbed up on the tracks and made her way to the hammers. Her hand grasped the handle of the first hammer she came across and then it happened.

As soon as she grabbed it, a strange feeling of excessive energy washed over her body, as if she was experiencing a massive caffeine rush. She swore that she could hear a fast paced tune in her head. Suddenly, her free arm moved on its own accord and grasped the handle tightly. Before she can say anything, Keeva found herself swinging the hammer back and forth, her body flashing a faint red glow. To any witnesses, Keeva looked like she had been possessed by whatever destructive spirit lived in the hammer. Every swing of the hammer inflicted massive dents into the metal work of the excavator, causing the engine to splutter. Foreman Spike got out of his cab to look and his face dropped with horror with what he was seeing.

"****No!****" he cried, "Stop wrecking my machine!"

"I can't!" Keeva responded with genuine fear, "It's got a mind of its own! I can't put it down!"

Unfortunately, Foreman Spike didn't hear her due to the engine spluttering and the sounds of metal being smashed. He growled and lunged forwards at her. He got about at least two feet of her before the bad judgement of his move dawned on him.

"Oh cra-"

The hammer swung upwards and caught him on the chin. He was lifted clean off his feet and sent him flying upwards, his cry of surprise and pain trailing after his flailing form. The hammer continued to smash and pummel the excavator into nothing more than scrap metal. Nearby, Doug and Lelani watched on in astonishment at the spectacle. Keeva saw them in her peripheral vison and managed to turn her head to face them, her arms still swinging the hammer back and forth uncontrollably.

"HEY! HOW DO YOU STOP THIS THING!?" she yelled, "I CAN'T CONTROL IT!"

Doug cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "It'll wear off soon! Just hang in there!"

Almost as soon as he spoke, the red flashing around Keeva started to lessen and the frantic pace of the swings began to slow down. Eventually, the hammer vanished from Keeva's hands in a small puff of smoke. The young woman's arms ached like crazy and she suddenly felt exhausted. Panting for breath, Keeva took in the sight in front of her. The excavator was a literal wreck, reduced to almost nothing but scrap metal and useless electronics. Fuel and oils leaked from cracked areas, giving it the appearance of a beast slowly bleeding to death. Keeva was both astonished and horrified at the sheer power that the hammers possessed, realising that they can do serious damaged when in the wrong hands.

A sudden loud '****SPLAT****' caught her attention. Keeva saw Foreman Spike had come down from his involuntary flight in the sky and landed in the middle of a mud pen. He lay unconscious in the thick slick mud, all the fight knocked out of his body. Keeva's knees then gave way and she fell backwards onto the grass, her legs briefly shut down from exhaustion. Her chest heaved up and down like a bellows, her throat feeling dry and hoarse.

"Gee...I'll never complain...about the gym...ever again.." she panted, hearing the sounds of footsteps coming towards her as Doug and Lelani came to her aid.

* * *

Unbeknownst to everyone, the paper that Foreman Spike possessed had fallen out of his pocket and had fallen onto the end of the mud pen. Had anyone paid any attention to it, they would have noticed the signature at the bottom that read,  
'****Signed,****  
__King Mamu Wart__'


	4. Chapter 3

Maddox stared in disbelief at the empty tube that once contained the Neo-Switch Gloves. He knew that the tubes were protected behind thick glass and a shallow energy field, making them very difficult to break into, let alone steal whatever item they contained. His eyes roved to another tube with words 'Elemental Tablets' emblazoned on the sign below it. To his further astonishment, the tube was also empty.

Maddox mind raced at this; knowing that the Elemental Tablets were additional parts towards the Neo-Switch Gloves. The Elemental Tablets were eight small squared shaped with the corners completely smoothed over. Each one contain a certain elemental power, represented by what colour it was. Red meant it had fire based powers. Light blue was for ice, dark blue for water, green for plants, orange for earth, purple for magic, yellow for electric and finally pink for psychic. Now all eight were absent from their containment along with the Neo-Switch Gloves.

Maddox turned sharply and sat down at his main computer, brushing aside a pile of pencil shavings and rubber dusting off his desk aggressively. Typing in a series of commands and codes, he accessed the security footage of his laboratory. Rewinding the footage a minute or so ago before he entered, Maddox saw the missing items still within their tubes. He suddenly had to shield his eyes as he saw the two tubes glow in a blue light before it faded away, leaving behind two empty tubes. He rewound the footage and watched it again and again. With no definitive answer to the mystery, Maddox shut off the security feed with a slight growl. He moved the mouse up to a file on his desktop and clicked on it. An efficient looking password barrier appeared in front of him. Maddox's fingers danced on the keyboard as he typed in the following code.

****3-18-21-3-9-2-12-5****

The password barrier lit up with the words '****ACCESS GRANTED****' in green letters. A wall of data scrolled onto the screen and the words 'Project 73' was emblazoned at the top. Maddox's eyes scanned the data and various schematics that the project contained. Within the space of a few minutes, Maddox found that Project 73 was safe and secure from whatever happened earlier. With a satisfied sigh, Maddox logged out of his programme and switched off his computer.

Though his project was safe, he was still concerned about the disappearance of the Neo-Switch Gloves and the Elemental Tablets. The fact and the very idea of them being snatched from under his very nose was a nasty sting to his pride. As he thought it over, one possible theory kept appearing in his mind; the possibility that the Virtual Spirits were the ones responsible for the items' disappearance.

Maddox pinched the bridge of his nose as the dawning realisation fell upon him. If it was the Virtual Spirits, then he'll have to go to Queen Alana and the Nexus High Council to confirm his suspicions. He glanced upwards at the ceiling with growing irritation; not wanting to resort to the idea but had little choice in the matter. He pushed his chair backwards, stood up and walked out of his laboratory, switching off the lights and locking the door behind him. Before long, he was strolling through the corridors of the Palace, his echoing footsteps being the only sound made in his journey.

* * *

The Virtual Warp swirled and mingled like oil paint on water, acting as the gaps between each Realms of the Virtual universe. It was jet black in appearance, broken frequently by dazzling lights of almost every colour, shining like sunlight through a stained glass window. If one were to look at straight on, they would feel like they were inside a gigantic kaleidoscope. Occasionally, a cyan coloured near featureless 'ghost' would float from one side to another, constantly whispering in hushed tones. They were the Virtual Spirits; beings that ascended from mortal form to inhabit the Warp, forever observing the Realms but only appearing in them when it was deemed absolutely necessary. Far from being barren, the Virtual Warp was in fact very much alive with activity. Then something new appeared within the Warp. Nine orbs of light materialised, one of them slightly bigger than the others. They hung in the air motionless as if waiting for inspection or to be given commands.

One Virtual Spirit floated from the pitch black depths and approached the nine orbs. Unlike the others, this Spirit had the features of an old yet strong looking man. It extended its arms and spread its hands over the orbs. The smaller eight orbs shook slightly and then darted in different directions. They felt small trails of light behind them as they flew like small comets towards their destinations within the many different Realms. The last orb glowed brightly as the Spirit placed a hand over it and the Spirit spoke in deep low whisper.

'__Whosoever wield these items, if he or she be worthy, shall be guided to become our Virtual Champion. Go forth to be found and aid the chosen one's destiny.__'

The Spirit made a sweeping gesture of its arm and the orb flew off in the direction of where the arm was pointing. It watched the orb go and began to float back into the ever shifting abyss.

'__Pray that we and our champion are not too late..__' said the Spirit before it vanished.

The orb soared through the Warp like a shooting star and ultimately appearing above the Kingdom of Nexus where it briefly winked out of existence, only to reappear in a small lake just a few miles away from the gates of the Kingdom of Nexus, waiting for the right person to enact its purpose.

* * *

Queen Alana felt the unmistakable tingle within herself, as if she was being informed by a sixth sense. Unlike her comrades, she was sensitive to the activities that occur within the Virtual Warp. Normally she would ignore it or paid little attention to it, but this was different. She had a feeling that something major was happening, something that would change everything, either for better or for worse.

* * *

Keeva found herself sitting on a soft chair back in the cottage, her hair clinging to her face from sweat and her arms throbbing from wielding the hammer against Foreman Spike and his cronies. Lelani and Doug had been ecstatic in their thanks towards her standing up to Foreman Spike and had contacted the local authorities to apprehend him. With the farmers in the kitchen sorting out a pot of tea, Keeva took the opportunity to get her bearings and to assess the situation. She let out a deep sigh and rested her head backwards on the chair, her eyes staring up at the ceiling.

'__What have I gotten myself into in this strange world?__' she thought to herself, '__I've got a feeling that this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. So many questions that need answering, so much going on in so little time..__'

'__Keeva..__' said a ghostly voice in her head.

Keeva almost bolted upright in her seat from hearing it, suddenly very alert in spite of her weariness.

"Wha-what? Who's there?" she asked nervously.

'__Keeva...come...Nexus...danger..__' said the voice.

"Danger? What do you mean danger? What's happening?" Keeva asked, feeling a chill run through her.

'__Danger...sanctity...threatened...Nexus Palace...come..__'

The voice faded away before Keeva can ask anymore questions, yet the words seemed to echo slightly in her head. She placed her fingers on her temples and massaged them, wondering if she was going insane from the traumatic experience of entering into the Virtual Universe. A sudden 'chink' made Keeva look up. She saw Lelani holding a cup of steaming tea on a saucer. The old Mii smiled warmly.

"Here's something to help perk you up and to clear the cobwebs from your head." she chimed, placing the cup on the small table bedsides Keeva.

The young woman nodded graciously and picked up the cup of tea. The sweet aroma wafted into her nostrils and for the first time in a long time, she felt truly comfortable and at ease. Keeva took a sip of the tea, sighed contently and looked up at Lenlani.

"You mentioned earlier about a Kingdom of Nexus." she mentioned, "Is it a place where I can get some answers and maybe some help?"

"Very likely." said Lelani, "It's pretty much got everything there, including your wish for new clothes. But it's quite a distance away though."

"What will be the best way to get to Nexus?" asked Keeva.

"Unless you enjoy long walks, it'll have to be by some type of vehicle." Lelani said sympathetically, "Our tractor isn't really roadworthy, plus it would be an rather uncomfortable ride with the seat going up and down."

Keeva sipped at her tea again and sighed heavily. Somehow she knew that there was going to be something that would impede her progress. It was at this point that Doug walked into the room with his own mug of tea.

"She can take my old bicycle to travel." he commented.

The suggestion catch Keeva and Lenlani's attention.

"You sure about that dear?" asked Lelani, "It hasn't been used for quite some time."

"No worries honey." said Doug, "I hardly use it nowadays. Not as young as I used to be. Just give it a clean and pump up the tyres and it'll be right as rain."

"Are you sure about this Doug?" asked Keeva with a slight hint of concern.

"Positive!" Doug responded, "Think of it as our thanks to you for helping us out."

"But it was mostly a fluke to be honest." said Keeva with self-doubt.

"But what's done been done." said Lelani, "Sometimes it's best to accept what's happened and move on."

"Oh, before I forget, you'll need this." said Doug.

He pulled out a small bag and placed it on Keeva's lap. It made a metallic jingling noise and felt somewhat heavy than it looked. Keeva looked up at Doug questionably.

"It's money that I found and acquired from that scoundrel earlier." Doug explained, "I wouldn't worry about if I were you two. He achieved that through foul means and such ill gotten gains can be put towards a more purer cause. Besides, you'll need some currency to get you through what you want within the Kingdom."

Doug winked at Keeva when he noticed her and his wife's looks of disbelief. He grinned and walked out of the room to see to his bicycle.

* * *

In a dark and secretive room, a large and rotund figure sat within the shadows as he listened to the report from one of his subordinates. In front of it was very tall fierce looking eagle with red feathers, white feathers underneath the wings and tailfeathers. It possessed a strong pair of legs and talons, as if it they were grown for load carrying.

"Are you sure that this...'__girl__' had not only beat up Foreman Spike, but also destroyed his vehicle?" asked the shadowy figure, its voice tinged with disbelief and controlled anger.

"I saw it with my own eyes!" said the large bird emphatically, "All was going well to acquire that plot of land until she showed up!"

"So much for paying out a vast sum to someone who couldn't even get the job done." said the figure in the shadows bitterly, "The next time Foreman Spike and I cross paths, we're gonna have a bit of a chat about his so-called 'business profession'."

"What will be the next order in business?" asked the bird.

"Well, since those farmers say that this girl is not a relative," said the figure, "I imagine she'll move on to another place. Head back out there and keep a close watch on her. If she's planning to come to the Kingdom, that will be fortuitous for us. We will find her, grab her and make her pay for interfering in our business. Now go!"

The big red bird nodded, flapped its wings and flew out of the room. The large figure watched the bird go and let out a low growl as it thought of a suitable penalty for the one that denied it and it's group the place it sought after.

* * *

Queen Alana half listened to the discussions about the various situations and issues that each member of the High Council brought forth. Not for the first time, she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, feeling like that she had come to the throne too soon. Now with the possibility of a new Captain N being brought forward, the High Council was nearly in an uproar, almost causing her to develop a headache and nearly regret bringing the subject up. It was no secret that the High Council was wary of the idea of a new Captain N, mainly due to how the previous one turned out. Alana often wondered what could've made Maddox turn from a confident, brave, loyal and yet egotistical hero to a stubborn, arrogant and insubordinate man that often clashed and challenged authority.

"But how do we know if it is a new Virtual Champion?" asked Blaze sceptically, "Even if it is, what will he or she be like?"

"That would be something us to find out in due course." said Dr. Light.

"Regardless, I think it might be best to keep a close eye on things." suggested Zelda, "After all, the last thing we want in these trying times is another one like Maddox."

Queen Alana sighed. As much as she hated Maddox being referenced in a negative light, she couldn't deny that the High Council was right about their views on him and the concerns that they currently have. Marth turned his attention towards the Queen.

"Though I do often wonder why you offered to take in Maddox within the Palace." he stated, "Especially when you take in account what he was like in the latter part of his time as Captain N."

"You can believe what you like Marth, but I have my reasons." said Alana wearily, "Most of them I won't go into. Granted by all accounts, he shouldn't be here, but he had nowhere else to go and I wouldn't be setting a good example as a Queen if I turned him away there and then."

Before anyone can speak, one of the eight mirrors of the chamber shimmered as something was coming through. Everyone turned to face it and saw a figure emerge from it. It was a tall human woman that looked to be in her early twenties, but in reality she was much older. She had green eyes and long flowing green hair that reached down to her lower legs. She wore an outfit of a relatively simple-looking white dress with numerous gold ornaments accommodating it and a vine-like patterns on the hem of her dress. A gold laurel crown adorned her head with golden fibula with a red jewel in the centre. She wore brown-coloured footwear and carried a gold staff with a blue handle and a bright blue orb at the top. An ornate mirror shield adorned her left arm. The woman was the last member of the High Council of Nexus and the most powerful and wisest. She was the Goddess of Light known as Palutena.

Palutena strolled into the chamber with an ease that was elegant and graceful as she was. She pulled up her seat and sat down, still clasping her staff.

"Forgive me for not being here earlier." she announced, "I was chasing up a possible Underworld Army incursion near this Realm."

"And was it?" asked General Pepper.

"In a sense, it was." said Palutena, "But it was just Eggplant Sorcerer causing trouble in one of the cities in the Overworld. He was making vegetables come to life and wreaking havoc. But nothing that I couldn't handle. Anyway, care to bring me up to speed?"

After a short while of explaining the situation, Palutena reclined in her seat thoughtfully.

"I see." she said, "It seems that things are looking quite bad for the majority of the Realms.."

"Reckon Medusa's behind all of this?" asked Marth.

"It is a strong possibility given that the Underworld Army is involved as well." said the Goddess of Light, "But so far I'm not sensing her presence."

"None at all?" Zelda inquired, "Now that is odd, mainly because she's the overall leader. Which begs the question of who's controlling the Underworld Army?"

"You don't think it's this Eggplant Sorcerer?" said Rosalina.

"No, he's not that powerful to take charge." said Palutena, "Plus he's into making food come to life and wreaking havoc in the kitchens of both mortals and immortals."

"Maybe there is some truth in the phrase 'you are what you eat'." muttered Dr. Light.

"But I will agree on one thing, that it's high time for a new Captain N to emerge." announced Palutena.

Everyone looked at Palutena in amazement. The Goddess gave a bright mischievous smile at their reactions.

"It's been a long time coming." she said, "All of you and even I know it. I've felt it as well as you have Queen Alana."

Queen Alana looked taken aback, her cheeks slightly pink.

"But...how do you know?" she asked in a small voice.

"As a Goddess, I've have a form of 'awareness' to the activates with the Virtual Warp." Palutena explained, "Though I will admit, mine aren't quite as sensitive as yours. Though this might sound cliché, but you've felt a disturbance within the Warp, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have." the Queen nodded, "First the mysterious object falling through the sky earlier and not too long ago...I feel something that's been scattered throughout the Realms by the Spirits. But I can't say for certain on what they are."

Before anyone can say anymore, there was a sudden commotion from outside. An somewhat intrusive male voice rang out from the other side of the door.

"Stand aside R.O.B! I need to see Queen Alana!"

"THE COUNCIL IS IN SESSION. YOU ARE PROHIBITED TO ENTER AND INTERRUPT." came the voice of R.O.B.

"Something happened in my laboratory!" the male voice retorted "I believe the Queen has an idea of what it might be! Now let me in!"

"SAVE FOR AFTER THE SESSION IS OVER." R.O.B responded, "NOW DESIST FROM INTRUDING ON THE HIGH COUNCIL."

"Oh for frag sake!" the male voice swore, "Out of my way bucket of bolts!"

There was the sounds of a scuffle ensued and the door slowly started to swing inwards. Queen Alana stood up and gripped her staff tightly, knowing all too well who the voice belonged to.

"Maddox.." she muttered, angered at the audacity of him to interrupt a meeting of the High Council.

Maddox was pushing the doors open with all of his might. R.O.B had its arms around his middle and was restraining him from entering the chamber. Maddox placed one hand on the robot and tries to push it off him.

"Let go of me, rust bucket!" he growled.

"DO NOT ENTER THE CHAMBER!" warned R.O.B, unmoved by Maddox's stubbornness, "DO NOT ENTER OR YOU WILL BE DISABLED!"

Queen Alana raised her staff and slammed the flat end against the floor, conjuring up a transparent blue energy barrier in the doorway that no one can enter.

"****ENOUGH!****" she bellowed.

Everyone in the room fell silent and Maddox stopped his struggle with R.O.B. His face dropped at the sight of the energy barrier in front of him. In his vision, everyone in the room was all in a shade of blue, like someone looking through a stained glass window.

"R.O.B, release him. He won't be able to enter the chamber." ordered Alana.

"I OBEY." R.O.B squawked, releasing Maddow from its grip.

Maddox's arm lashed out a blow at the robot, but only succeeding in hurting his forearm slightly. R.O.B wisely retreated to its previous position, ever the watchful sentinel. Queen Alana strolled up to the energy barrier and met Maddox's eyes with a steely gaze.

"You'd honestly __dare__ to interfere?" she hissed, her voice full of cold fury, "You have the sheer __audacity__ to barge in and interrupt a meeting of the High Council?"

Maddox stood defiantly and glowered at the High Council contemptuously.

"Well why shouldn't I?" he retorted, "All you ever do is talk and do no action anyway."

"We are debating on the current matters and affairs of the Realms!" snapped Marth hotly, "We take our roles of being members of the High Council very seriously!"

"Oh yeah, you certainly do(!)" said Maddox, his voice thick with bitter sarcasm, "Quite a fine and glorious job of running things you're doing alright."

Everyone at the table glared at Maddox for the insolence. Blaze clenched her fists and wisps of fire formed on her knuckles. She looked ready to spring from her chair and have it out with Maddox, but Dr. Light held a hand up to tell her to stay. Queen Alana glared at Maddox and spoke through gritted teeth.

"What do you want Maddox?"

"An incident had occurred in my laboratory." said Maddox, "Both the Neo-Switch Gloves and the Elemental Tablets have vanished whilst still within their containers. The only clue I have was that there was a blue flash before they were gone. Tell me, did you feel something odd earlier?"

Queen Alalna's expression softened slightly as she digested the information.

"Yes, I did feel something stirring within the Warp and I also believe I have the possible answer." she replied, "It seems that the Virtual Spirits have taken your items and have scattered them across the Realms."

"But what for?" asked Maddox, clearly at a loss.

"It would seem that the Spirits believe that it's time for a new Virtual Champion to emerge." said the Queen.

Maddox nearly let out a gasp of alarm, as if such a large bee or wasp had stung him. It took a second for him to recompose himself.

"That sounds preposterous." he said, "I know things are bad as they are, but are the Spirits really that desperate to sort things out? If so, then they took their sweet time."

"I'd strongly advise you not to blaspheme Maddox." warned Alana, narrowing her eyes.

"Come on, think about it!" Maddox retorted, "If the Spirits wanted a new Captain N, they would've done that a long time ago and we wouldn't be having all of these problems! But no! They chose to let the Realms struggle and suffer! Time and time again I've appealed for the artefacts within the Beta Vault to be brought to the fore! But all of you refused every single time, claiming that they would only inflame the situation even further! But how much worse can things can possibly get for you all to take notice and to take action?! Also, what is the point of creating such items of power if you're not going to use them?!"

"It is NOT your place to decide on such matters!" Queen Alana snapped, "Plus you haven't considered the consequences of deploying such powerful items for the purpose of war! Should we try to do that, our enemies will respond in kind with terrible weapons of their own! It doesn't matter how right or justified you feel, you have no idea who's going to suffer and die as a result!"

Both Maddox and Queen Alana glared at each other, the tension in the air was so thick that one could slice it with a sword.

"This discussion is terminated." said Alana coldly, "Just remember your place here. Also, we have the support of our allies within the Realms to clamp down on any signs of incursions."

"Don't lecture me about unions and neighbourliness." Maddox growled sulkily, "We have survived and prevailed in the past because of our strength. And now we face defeat and annihilation because of our weakness and inability to act accordingly."

Maddox turned on his heel and stormed off. Queen Alana watched him go and let out a heavy sigh. Sooner or later, she will have to take steps towards dealing with Maddox's attitude towards her and the High Council. With a snap of her fingers, the energy barrier dissipated. Turning around to face her fellow council members, the Queen strolled towards her seat.

"Apologies for my unseemly outburst." she said wearily, "But that man is seriously trying my patience.."

All of the members of the High Council nodded sympathetically.

"It's like he doesn't want another Virtual Champion to emerge." said Zelda, "But the question is why."

"Maybe he doesn't want to be reminded of what he was back then." said Palutena, "Perhaps the very idea of a successor to his previous role would be a blow to his already wounded pride."

"Now that would be very selfish of him to think like that." agreed Marth.

"How do you put up with him and why?" asked Blaze.

"Sheer willpower and patience alone." said the Queen, "As to why, probably because I loved him once a long time ago.."

"You had feelings for him?" said Rosalina.

"Yeah.." Queen Alana sighed, "But I was still a princess at the time. I was young, headstrong but quite naïve. Understandably, I was devastated when my father banished him from the Virtual Universe and was angry at him. But now I've seen what he was turning into back then and his banishment was perhaps a lesson in humility. Clearly that didn't work at all. Did I have the right to accept him back into the Palace? Probably not.."

"But why did you anyway?" Blaze inquired.

"Maybe perhaps out of whatever love I had for him." said Queen Alana, "Or even hope that he'll change his ways for the better. I know it doesn't sound much, but sometimes I feel like that's all I have left.."

* * *

Maddox strolled through the corridors at a quick pace, his anger still simmering from his tirade towards the High Council. It infuriated him to no end that they were (in his mind and view) narrow-minded to the ever growing chaos of the Virtual Universe and doing very little to come up with an actual solution to it. He felt like he had a duty to prove them wrong and to show their apparent incompetence in front of their eyes.

But he didn't want to show his hand to them unless he was absolutely certain that it was undeniable proof and cannot be dismissed and rebuked. For now, all Maddox had to do was wait and bide his time. But Maddox's patience was starting to wear very thin of late. Now with the possibility of a new Captain N being brought to the fore, he was starting to realise that he might have to take matters into his own hands.

He re-entered his laboratory and closed the doors behind him. He strolled up to his computer and activated it again. Typing in the same code from before, he made a careful study upon Project 73 and to find the additional but necessary items required for it to be complete. Maddox written down a few notes on a notepad, leaned back in his seat and studied the data. His eyes slowly roved to a tube that was covered by a thick metal covering. As soon as he laid eyes on it, a hundred or so ideas flashed in his brain, causing him to smile.

He turned his attention to the computer screen, scribbled a few notes down and switch off his computer. Maddox stood up and strolled towards a heavy metal door. He passed a table full of various items, extended his hand and picked up a thick disc like object with a black circular center, never once missing a step in his stride.

Maddox approached the metal door and punched in a code. It opened slowly to reveal an active Warp Portal. It rippled and shimmered like a pond being disturbed. The black and multicoloured maelstrom of the Warp can be seen like someone looking down a tunnel. Maddox typed in a series of commands and the 'tunnel' shimmered and shone in response.

Glancing behind him to check that the coast was clear, Maddox placed the device on his person and pressed a button on it. For a moment, Maddox wobbled and distort in the air before he vanished completely. The wobbling gate into the Warp shook as if something invisible passed through it before it settled itself again. Then the lights in the laboratory went out, no longer sensing the presence of Maddox and shrouding it in near complete darkness.


	5. Chapter 4

The large red bird had landed on a tree and was scanning the area with its very keen eyesight. It had been keeping an eye out for the mysterious red haired girl that beaten up Foreman Spike earlier. It had to hide at one point when a white and dark blue van sped by the tree. As it saw it head towards the Kingdom, the bird came to the conclusion that Foreman Spike was in that particular and adeptly named 'paddy-wagon' and was being taken to the local jail. The red bird turned its attention to the task in hand. In front of it was a small lake and a smooth road running along side it.

A slight glint of metal in the distance caught its attention. Narrowing its eyes to make it out, the bird saw a person riding on a bicycle on the road. The bird watched as the person slowed down, got off the seat and pushed the bicycle down a small hillock that lead down to the bank of the lake. The bird's beak broke into a triumphant grin as it recognised the persons' dark red hair. The bird was about to take off from the tree when it had a brainwave.

'__Hang on a sec.__' it thought to itself, '__If I grab her now, then I might not be able to make it back at the lair. I might have strong legs, but I won't be able to carry her for a long distance. She'll be too heavy.. The boss has always mentioned of being subtle and discreet. Maybe should I wait until she gets near the city walls and then grab her..__'

Something else caught the big bird's attention. It looked to a bank of the lake where it was nearest to the tree. It saw a man in a dark yellow coat and hat with a small girl by the lake, skimming stones on the surface. Seeing how small the girl looked, the bird grinned manically as its earlier idea to catch the red haired girl went straight out of the window.

* * *

Placing the bicycle gently on the grass, Keeva made her way towards the lake to get a drink. She didn't have to wait long for the bicycle to be brought up to speed by Doug. With her currency and belongings secured, Keeva had bid Lelani and Doug a fond farewell before riding off into the unknown. During her journey, Keeva took the opportunity to look around herself. The plains and woods stretched as far as she could see; the leaves and the grass looked vibrant and bright. The sky above her was a vast cyan blue canvas with the slightly square shaped clouds adorning it. A gentle breeze blew through her as she rode on the bicycle, proving some relief from her overheating with the exercise. Eventually, her thirst and weariness got the best of her and she ended up by the lakeside.

Keeva knelt down on the ground and cusped some water in her hands. Carefully raising it to her lips, Keeva drank the water deeply, feeling it cool her down slightly. Having drained her cusped hands, Keeva dipped her hands into the water again and drank it. To her, the water tasted cool, fresh and sweet, almost unlike any type of water she ever drank. Having satisfying her thirst, Keeva sat down and let her eyes survey the surrounding area. To her, this mysterious Realm almost feels like a paradise, albeit with one or two metaphorical serpents in the mixture.

She looked up at the sky, as if trying to find the place where she had fallen from. She pondered on the circumstances of her arrival within the Virtual universe and the conversation with Atarius whilst she was unconscious. But then the memories of her troubled and turbulent life back in the real world surfaced, causing her to shudder. For a long time, Keeva had known nothing but pain, scorn and fury. Whether or not that her arrival in the Virtual universe was a welcome break for her, Keeva had no way of knowing. But what she did know that she was free from an existence of misery and pain. To her mind and recalling a certain line from a song she knew, some things are better best forgotten.

A sudden glint in the water brought Keeva from her melancholic thoughts. She strained her eyes from the sunlight on the water to see if it wasn't a trick of the light. Sure enough, bobbing on the surface and coming towards the bank was what appeared to be a crystal sphere that was the size of a small football. Keeva raised an eyebrow, wondering why such an object be in a small lake. Then she heard the ghostly whispers in her head, causing her to check her surroundings. Keeva found that she was alone, yet she was still plagued by the voices. Though she couldn't make out what they were saying, something was telling Keeva to pick up the crystal orb.

Kneeling down and grasping the grass with one hand, Keeva stretched her free arm outwards and managed to grab at the orb. Bringing it onto dry land, Keeva inspected it all over and was surprised to find that it wasn't quite a sphere at all. It was a polyhedron, roughly spherical in appearance but made up of flat triangular sides. Keeva placed her other hand on the object and turned it over a few times.

Then the orb began to glow brightly, causing Keeva to jump with fright and drop it. The orb landed on the grass and the glow faded. The young woman tilted her head to one side and slowly extended a hand on the orb. The glow flared up slightly in reaction to the touch. With curiosity aroused, Keeva placed the other hand on the orb, causing it to glow brightly. She narrowed her eyes from the glare of the glow and noticed that the bottom part of the orb began to spin slowly. A small frown of puzzlement formed on Keeva's face, wondering on why the bottom part of the orb was spinning on its own. Then she realised that the orb wasn't a precious mineral, but a container that was unscrewing itself open. Two inches of shiny screw showed itself before the top part came away with a small '__click!__'.

Keeva placed the top of the orb to one side and looked inside its contents. Almost floating in a yellow-white glow were a pair of fingerless gloves. They were gunmetal grey in colour with jet black trims and six dull silver symbols on the top. The symbols were four arrows, each one pointing in a different direction. The other two were a plus and a minus symbol. The gloves shone like freshly burnished metal in the light.

Keeva raised an eyebrow in bemusement, wondering why would a container holding a pair of fingerless gloves be bobbing about in a small lake. Though she had to admit, they did look rather snazzy. With a slight smile, Keeva picked up the gloves and carefully placed them on her hands. To her surprise, the gloves felt like elastane and seemed to fit her hands snuggly. Keeva felt a subtle charge of energy flow through her; whether it was result of wearing the gloves was beyond her understanding. The light within the orb faded away and both halves of the object started to dissolve into thin air.

The ethereal whispering sang in the air, but was so quiet and subtle that one would have to listen very hard to hear it. Turning her hands over and under, Keeva inspected the gloves, wiggling her fingers experimentally and clenching and unclenching her fists. For whatever reason, the fingerless gloves felt good to her, as if they were made for her to wear.

Suddenly an ear-piercing scream filled the air. Keeva jolted in alarm and looked around. The scream sounded like a girl in distress, but she couldn't tell where it came from. There was the screech of some enormous bird, followed by another high pitched scream.

"****DADDY!****"

Something deep inside Keeva snapped. Someone's daughter was in danger, someone's own flesh and blood was in trouble and she had assist in everyway. Standing up, Keeva raced towards where the screams came from. Climbing over a small hillock, the young woman came across a person laying sprawled on the grass, as if knocked over. Keeva's eyes glanced upwards and saw the outline of a very large bird flying away with a small person in its talons. The persons' legs thrashed and flailed desperately to get free, but the bird had a firm grip on the persons' arms. Sensing time was of the essence, Keeva raced towards the prone figure on the grass.

It turned out to be a man in his mid thirties, wearing a dark yellow overcoat and hat. A red tie poked out from a gap at the top of his coat. He wore a pair of dark grey trousers and shiny light brown shoes. A pair of thick rimmed square shaped glasses were perched on the bridge of his nose and a short but scruffy black beard adorned the lower part of his face. Keeva looked him over and saw no visible damage on his person. Gently, she removed his hat and grimaced when she saw the red welt on the top of his head. The man groaned and blinked a few times as he came round.

"Ohhh...my head.." he mumbled, "Wha...what happened..?"

"You were attacked." said Keeva, "Took a knock on the head by the looks of it."

"Huh? W-who are you?" the man asked.

"I'm Keeva." said the young woman, "What's yours?"

"M...Mr. Stevenson.." said the man, sitting up slowly and looking around in a panic, "Where is she?! Where's Jennifer?!"

Keeva swallowed nervously, hating the idea to deliver the bad news.

"I'm afraid that your daughter's been kidnapped.."

Mr. Stevenson's face went pale and aggressively stood up, disregarding the throbbing headache.

"By who?!" he barked, "Who done it?!"

"I don't know who!" said Keeva, standing up to calm him down, "But it looked like a big bird had grabbed her."

"A big bird?" Mr. Stevenson responded, facing Keeva sharply, "There's only one big bird I know and that's.."

Mr. Stevenson's face fell with rising horror.

"We gotta get after him!" he snapped, "There's no telling what will happen!"

Mr. Stevenson turned to run, but then clutched at his head from the throbbing pain. Keeva realised the urgency of the situation, but she can see that he was in no shape to go after anyone. She put an arm over his shoulder and helped him to sit again.

"Mr. Stevenson, with all due respect, you're in no condition to do anything!" she reasoned, "I saw the bird fly off straight ahead of us."

"Towards the Kingdom.." the man murmured, "I bet they have a hideout somewhere within the city.."

"'They'? Who's they?" asked Keeva.

"That bird is part of a notorious gang that's been causing trouble for quite sometime." said Mr. Stevenson grimly, "I've knew that their crimes are growing more brazen, but this is a brand new low for them! They must stopped once and for all!"

"I'll go and rescue your daughter!" said Keeva.

"But how?" the man retorted, "You don't have a vehicle and it's a long way to the city walls!"

"I have a bicycle!" Keeva countered, "I can get there quicker and hopefully catch up with it. Mr. Stevenson, I promise I'll get your daughter back, whatever it takes."

Mr. Stevenson looked into Keeva's green eyes and saw undeniable determination within them. He was normally a proud and hardy man, but he had been sucker-punched and incapacitated by a cowardly maneuver. Deep down, he knew that the young woman was right, he couldn't do much without much needed rest. Swallowing his bruised pride, he nodded slowly.

"Okay...but I'll be right behind you...and I'll try to get some back up.."

Keeva nodded and stood up. She raced over the hillock and picked up her bicycle. Pushing it onto the road, Keeva mounted it and started pushing hard on the pedals. She raced along down the road, determined not to lose sight of the bird. Mr. Stevenson watched her go by and dragged himself to the lakeside. Pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket, he dipped it into the water, letting it soak for a moment. Mr. Stevenson took off his hat and placed the wet handkerchief on the top of his head, hoping to soothe the throbbing pain.

"What a great start to the day.." he groaned, pressing the makeshift compress on his aching head.

* * *

Back in the dark room, the large figure in the shadows listened to one of its subordinates give a report of the red bird's activities. The one giving the news was a small and rather fat humanoid mouse with grey fur. It wore dark pink gloves and shoes and a pair of angular looking sunglasses. The mouse shifted uncomfortably as it reported to the figure, as if unsure if it was going to get out unscathed.

"Let me understand this, Mouser," said the figure, "you're saying that Albatoss has kidnapped a little girl and is bringing her here?"

"Certainly looks like it Boss.." said Mouser uncertainly, "But for whatever reason, escapes me completely."

"Oh, I think I know his reason and we need to make adjustments to his scheme." the figure replied, "Mouser! Take some rope and Phanto with you and tell Albatoss to get himself ready to get the real target!"

"But what for Boss? I don't-" Mouser began, then he grinned as the penny dropped, "Ah, I see! I'll be right on it!"

Mouser scurried off to his task, leaving the figure in the shadows alone to muse over the turn of events.

* * *

Keeva's legs pounded in the pedals like twin pistons, her breath laboring raggedly within her chest from the exertion. She kept her eyes ahead and upwards, watching any signs of the bird. She had a one point caught sight of it before it sped up and out of her sight, but she knew that it was maintaining a straight course towards the walls of the city. Before long, the very tops of futuristic looking buildings crept into view before the rest of them got obscured by an ancient and ornate looking wall. The wall seemed to stretch for miles. How it was made, how long it took and why was it constructed would forever remained a mystery. To Keeva's eyes, it was a true wonder of the land and looked like it was designed to keep the inhabitants in and (hopefully) to keep any aggressors out.

Though she was fair distance away, Keeva can see a very tall gate that looked like it opened outwards. It was silver in colour, but had a faint blue gauze shimmering over it. All along the outside of the great wall were thick trees that seemed to hide the lower half of the wall. If one were to look at the city and the wall from above in the sky, they would see the trees form a thin dark green line along the rim of the fantastical wall.

Keeva's eyes roved from side to side, checking the trees to see if the bird was resting in one of them. She eventually got right up close to the wall, but away from the main gate. Keeva parked her bicycle and looked at tree in her line of sight, her chest heaving up and down. Her heart pounded from the exercise and with growing nerves. The shadows caused by the afternoon sun shining on the trees made things more challenging for her.

Keeva inspected almost each and every tree and then she saw it. There was something light brown wrapped around a tree and it seemed to shift slightly. Ditching her bicycle to the ground, Keeva raced over to the particular tree and discovered that it was rope. Slowly coming around the corner, Keeva found a small girl tied to the tree with a gag over her mouth. She looked to be either six or seven years old and wore a red and yellow dress. A red hairband kept her blonde hair in check. The girl's legs flailed in a attempt to free herself, her cries muffled by the gag. Keeva placed a finger to her lips and shushed soothingly.

"Shhh...it's okay. I'm not one of the bad guys." she whispered, "Are you Jennifer?"

The girl nodded.

"Right, I'll untie you and get you back to Mr. Stevenson." said Keeva, already starting to untie the rope.

Jennifer shook her head furiously and tried to speak through the gag. Keeva looked up at her and inched backwards to avoid her kicking legs.

"It's okay! I'm here to help you." Keeva assured her, "Here, lets take this off."

Keeva pulled the gag away from Jennifer's mouth. The girl drew in a big breath and yelled what she had been trying to tell her.

"It's a trap!"

The words caused Keeva to freeze on the spot. A sudden rustling in the bushes to her left caused her to look and Mouser emerged with a small black bomb, its fuse sparking and fizzing. The humanoid mouse grinned and pull his arm back.

"Here! Catch!" he taunted, throwing near Keeva's feet.

The bomb exploded, knocking Keeva off her feet and sent her sprawling backwards. The explosion didn't damage her or Jennifer, but was enough to cause a scene. Mouser chuckled and strolled towards Keeva menacingly, adjusting his sunglasses.

"Love it when a plan comes together!" he crowed.

Mouser stopped by Jennifer and to the little girl's surprise, began to untie her.

"You're not the one we want, toots." he said, "It's Miss Red-Hair over there we want. Now get outta here before we change our mind."

Jennifer landed on the ground and hesitated on what to do. Then a glare from Mouser made her make her decision on the spot. Jennifer raced into the woods, but then hid out of sight behind a tree to watch, yet scared to interfere. Mouser dusted his hands with satisfaction and picked up the rope. Placing an index finger and thumb in his mouth, Mouser let out a sharp whistle. Unbeknownst to Keeva (who was getting up), another being came from the leaves behind her. It was a disembodied mask with one side white and the other side red. The eyes and mouth were black and had the appearance of a person doing an evil grin. The mask floated behind Keeva, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"That...was downright...rotten!" said Keeva, adopting an aggressive stance.

"Sometimes you gotta be a rotten egg to get stuff done!" Mouser replied, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, "Besides, our boss wants a serious talk with ya and he's not too pleased."

"Luring me here by kidnapping a little girl just for a chat?" Keeva said disgustedly, "That's pretty much a scumbag move there!"

"I wouldn't get too comfortable on your soapbox if I were you!" Mouser countered, "Phanto, do yer thing!"

Keeva's view suddenly went dark as something had placed itself over her face like a mask. It seemed to stick to her face like a suction cup, causing her to nearly lose her balance in disorientation. Keeva grasped at it and tried to pull it off, but it was secured firmly to her face. Panic flared up inside her, fearing that she going to suffocate. Phanto grinned maliciously and opened his mouth slightly, allowing Keeva to breathe. The young woman gasped in big breaths as she wrestled with the sentient mask like being. Mouser grinned wickedly and came up to her with the rope brandished.

Disorientated and her vision obscured, Keeva took a step back and tripped over backwards. Mouser raced over to Keeva and wrapped a coil of rope around her body, pinning her arms to her sides. He wrapped few more coils of rope around her and secured it tightly. Keeva's legs flailed and nearly kicked Mouser in the stomach, all the while trying to pry Phanto off her face. Mouser stepped back and whistled again.

"Okay Albatoss! Take her away!" he called.

The big red bird known as Albatoss swooped from a tree and grasped the rope around Keeva's body. His strong talons lifted the young woman up and Albatoss was carrying her away along the edge of the wall. Mouser chuckled at a job well done and raced after Albatoss, eager to see what his superior had in mind for her.

Jennifer watched the scene unfurl in horror. She knew that she had to do something and fast. She watched Albatoss and Mouser make off with their quarry and head towards a man sized hole at one part of the wall further down. Panic welled up inside her and she ran through the woods and down the road towards the lake, hoping to find her father and to get help.

* * *

Meanwhile in the conference room, the tension had abated a little from the confrontation between Queen Alana and Maddox. The conversation had now moved to a subject of stolen artefacts from a certain Realm.

"Any word upon the location of the Chaos Emeralds?" asked Queen Alana.

"Nothing as of yet." said Blaze, shaking her head, "Sonic had already confronted Dr. Eggman about it, but he said that he had nothing to do with it."

"If I recall," said Rosalina, "they were still on Angel Island under Knuckles' care. Apparently, Knuckles' was ambushed by something invisible and he was knocked out. When he came to, the Chaos Emeralds were gone."

"But I wonder why just them and not the Master Emerald as well?" Dr. Light pondered.

"Perhaps the Master Emerald was too large and heavy to carry off with." suggested General Pepper.

"That's one possibility." said Palutena, "But I think there's something more to it. The Chaos Emeralds are indeed powerful, with or without the Master Emerald. I think they're in the hands of someone or something with its' own, and most likely, dangerous agenda."

"But if it isn't Dr. Eggman, then who else can benefit from using them?" asked Zelda.

Before anyone can speak, there was another sound of voices from outside the door, but this time it was Pit speaking to R.O.B in an urgent tone.

"I've an urgent message for the Queen and requires immediate action!" he said breathlessly.

There was a brief silence and the doors opened inwards. Pit stood in the doorway impatiently, almost jogging on the spot. R.O.B moved away from the door controls and gestured towards the conference room.

"YOU MAY ENTER." it intoned.

Pit nodded in appreciation and almost ran into the chamber. He skidded to a halt next to the Queen and bend down on one knee in the presence of Palutena.

"Forgive me for this your Highness," said Pit, "but we've got an incident outside the city walls. It's the 8 Bit Gang.."

"Here in this Realm?" said Marth incredulously, "I thought we've locked them up for good!"

"So did we all." Queen Alana interjected, "Where were they found?"

"Almost right outside the wall near the gate." Pit reported, "Also, they were reported heading towards one of the sewer ducts outside and they've abducted someone."

"The Sub-Con Sewers." said the Queen, "If were lucky, we can catch them off guard and send them packing back to their Realm."

She rose from her seat and faced R.O.B.

"R.O.B, organise a strike team and move them into positions!" she commanded, "We need to act quickly due to their unpredictability."

"I OBEY." said R.O.B before turning and moving off down the corridor.

"Pit, I want you to accompany them." said Queen Alana, "There might be valuable information to gained from this and you tend to be pretty quick when delivering messages."

"Will do your Highness!" said Pit brightly, bowing his head before running off after R.O.B.

Queen Alana watched him go and turned to face the High Council.

"It seems that our problems keep on escalating today." she commented wearily, "Now we need to find out how they managed to get to Nexus."

"I've got a feeling that they were assisted with their escape." suggested Palutena, "Looks like someone had provided them a Warp Portal to get here, but for what?"

Blaze suddenly gasped and clasped at her head, as if she was experiencing a major migraine. Everyone looked at her in concern.

"Blaze, you okay?" asked Queen Alana.

"I sense...a disturbance.." Blaze managed, "Something major...and terrible.."

The Mobian Cat cried out in pain and grimaced, her eyes scrunched shut. Dr. Light was by her side and everyone was out of their seats in alarm. Blaze opened her eyes and her expression became one with horror.

"The Jeweled Scepter...it's ****gone..!****" she gasped.

The High Council looked at each other, the chill of sudden fear thick upon the air. The Jeweled Scepter was a powerful artefact from the Sol Realm which was guarded by Blaze's family for generations. It was an item that contained the immense force that ensures the existence of the Sol Realm, thus controlling its geological activity. The Sol Emeralds (the Sol Realms' equivalent of the Chaos Emeralds) were also connected to the Jeweled Scepter for they contain a fraction of the power that it possessed. Now, all seven Emeralds manifested around Blaze and started to spin slowly around her, as if sensing her distress. They were in the shape of emerald cut gems and were in the colours of green, red, blue, yellow, purple, turquoise and white.

"How do you know and can you be certain?" asked Marth.

"I'm its guardian!" hissed Blaze, "The guardians of the Scepter and the Sol Emeralds are rather sensitive to their welfare.. I sense turmoil in my home...geological upheavals...rising sea levels...if left unchecked...it'll mean the end for the Sol Realm!"


	6. Chapter 5

Jennifer ran down the main road, her breath labouring raggedly within her small chest. A few times she had to stop and take a few big lungfuls of air before carrying on down the road. She hoped that she would run into her father and alert him to what happened, but whether she would ever get to him is another matter all together. Jennifer glanced over her shoulder, wondering if any member of the 8 Bit Gang has followed her. Seeing that she wasn't being followed, Jennifer looked ahead and almost skidded to a halt when she saw her father half walking half staggering on the road, holding the wet handkerchief on his sore head.

"Daddy!" she cried.

Mr. Stevenson looked up and a relieved smile formed on his face. But it soon ebbed away when he realised that Jennifer was alone. He quickened his pace, relived to see his daughter again. The little girl ran up to him and hugged him tightly, with Mr. Stevenson responding in kind.

"Jennifer!" he gasped with relief, "Thank goodness you're okay! But how come you're on your own? Where's Keeva?"

"They took her, Daddy!" said Jennifer, looking up at him with tear filled eyes, "The bad guys took her after she set me free! We got to help her!"

Mr. Stevenson's jaw stiffened grimly. The very idea that the 8 Bit Gang had kidnapped his own daughter to act as bait for Keeva for whatever reason was one of the despicable acts he had ever experienced. He brought Jennifer close to him and whispered in her ear.

"We will Jenny. I've already informed the authorities of Nexus earlier. They should be scouring the local area for them by now."

"I hope she'll be okay.." said Jennifer in a small voice.

"I hope so too." said Mr. Stevenson, "Pray that they're not too late. Come on, we better get back to the city."

Taking his daughter by the hand, Mr. Stevenson strolled down the road towards the city, mentally sighing with weary resignation that his supposed day out with his daughter had just turned into another case to solve.

* * *

Darkness was the only thing that Keeva could see. She felt something strong and with claws grip her and carry her off to somewhere. She thrashed within the rope wrapped around her, but it had been securely fastened about her body. Though she can breathe and shout whatever obscenities she could think of through the gap over her mouth, Keeva felt disoriented and claustrophobic due to the buffeting motions and the mask-like being over her face. How she remained tied up and blinded, she had no way of knowing.

Then for what seemed like forever, Keeva felt herself being dropped onto a cold hard floor. She writhed and wriggled about like a fish or an eel on dry land. She began to hear voices around her; though varied, they all carried an air of malice within them.

"So that's her, eh?" said a voice that sounded like three people speaking at once, "Don't look much to me. I could just squeeze the life out of her."

"Nah, that's too easy!" said a rather nasally female voice, "I'll give her a makeover session that she'll won't forget!"

"No! I wanna burn her to a crisp!" said a dry and crackling voice.

"Let's make it quick and easy by snipping her head off!" said a harsh clicking voice.

"You all will do no such thing until I say so!" said a booming authoritarian voice, "Phanto, release her but keep the rope around her!"

The dark veil lifted from Keeva's eyes and harsh light met her full on, forcing her to scrunch her eyes nearly shut. She grimaced as she felt rough hands pull her up onto her feet. After a moment of squinting until her vision cleared, Keeva found herself in a vast room in which appeared to be a swear complex. The sickly-sweet smell of various waste and stale air made her nose wrinkle in disgust. A old and grimy light hung above her head, adding to the already dingy atmosphere. But it was the individuals that immediately caught Keeva, for they had her surrounded. She recognised Mouser, Albatoss and Phanto, but the others she had never met before and they were a motley collection of ner-do-wells.

One of them was a three headed snake with a smallish body, red scales, a white underbelly and was called Tryclyde.  
Another one was a dinosaur like being with pink skin, white belly, three red spikes on its back, a big red bow atop of its head and a funnel shaped mouth. The being was called Birdo and was a rather vain and needy character.  
Another one of them looked like a large living ball of fire with a black 'flame-mask' over a pair of white eyes and was called Fryguy.  
The last one was an enormous red crab that was half her size and was called Clawgrip.

The gang glowered at Keeva menacingly, almost waiting for her to make that one wrong move that would seal her fate. Keeva felt the chill of fear flow in her veins, knowing that she was defenceless from any attack from this gang. Yet they didn't move or even attempt to attack her, which made the situation even more intense. A rustling noise from behind her caused her to turn around. Keeva saw an enormous figure hidden within deep shadows sitting on a makeshift throne, lounging on it like a lazy overweight monarch.

"So, you're the person that has already put a dent in my plan." it said, its voice deep and burbling, "You have certainly have plenty of nerve to do so and a lot of explaining to do."

"Just what the heck are you talking about?!" Keeva snapped, "And do you want with me?!"

The figure regarded her outburst for a moment, as if digesting the fact that she had no idea what she gotten herself into.

"I shall tell you exactly." it said, "You interfered with my 'renovation' plan, attacked my contractor and his staff, smashed up his equipment and what grieves me the most is the fact you took the money that I have paid him with and planning to use it for something so insignificant!"

Keeva's eyes widened at the realisation that this figure and its cronies were responsible for Foreman Spike attempt at the farm cottage earlier. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the figure, an expression of disgust on her face.

"Well, if you want me to explain to myself to you," she retorted, "I'll tell you first of all that you are scum sir! And a very fitting one that considering that you and your thugs hide in a sewer!"

She heard the angry murmurings and grumbling behind her, their ire aroused as hers is. The figure growled with ill-temper and sat upright as if drawing to its full height.

"Do you even know who I am?!" it rumbled indignantly.

"Apart from that you're a scoundrel, no!" said Keeva defiantly.

"I am the King of my Realm and the leader of the 8 Bit Gang." said the figure menacingly.

The shadowy figure leaned forward from its makeshift throne and revealed itself in the light. It was a large green being with a big white round belly, a general body shape resembling a frog with a vaguely crocodilian snout filled large white teeth and large claws on his two-toed feet and four-fingered hands. It wore a blue cape, a gold basic-looking crown, a large pendant on a gold necklace and gold bracelets on its wrists. The being was masculine in appearance and carried an air of authority about him. He grinned wickedly as he introduced himself.

"I am King Mamu Wart."

* * *

Meanwhile, outside to one of the entrances of the Sub-Con sewers, Pit, R.O.B and a group of Mii's in special forces outfits and carrying stun arm cannons were gathered together. The Mii's cocked and readied their weapons in anticipation whilst Pit strolled up and down, briefing them of their mission.

"Okay, this is the situation." Pit announced, "The 8 Bit Gang are a group of criminals that somehow managed to escape from their prison. Our job is to apprehend them, send them back to their prison and update the security of that place. Now, be aware of these crooks. They are crafty, dangerous and will not hesitate to resist arrest. We need to strike as quickly and effectively as we can. Also, we have a report that the 8 Bit Gang have abducted someone. Now, if you see the person in question, do not act hostile towards the abductee. Approach him or her with caution for he or she might fight back out of instinct. We need to approach this carefully. Any questions?"

Pit gestured to R.O.B, who in turn had a series of zeroes and ones rolling its glassy eyes and was making a few electronic purrs and beeps. After a short moment, the robot's eyes returned to normal.

"R.O.B has just updated your virtual maps, so you'll have a reliable maps of the Sub-Con sewers to carry out this mission." said Pit, "Now, are there any questions?"

No-one within the team said anything, yet a voice rang out from behind them.

"Hey! Over here!"

Everyone turned to the source of the voice and saw Mr. Stevenson and Jennifer coming towards them. Pit recognised the retired detective immediately.

"Mr. Stevenson!" called the angel, "You must've been the one that gave the report. What brings you here?"

"I'm coming too. I've got a score to settle with these crooks." said Mr. Stevenson, reaching into his inside coat pocket and pulled out a white and orange semi futuristic ray gun.

Jennifer looked up at her father with concern.

"But Daddy, I-" she began before she was silenced when her father keeled down to her face.

"I'll be fine." he said, "I'll be lending a hand to the team and repaying the debt to that girl. Just head into the city and wait for me at the cake shop. Okay?"

Jennifer nodded and made her way into the city, waving at her father as she went. Mr. Stevenson waved back and stood along side the team. Pit nodded and gestured to the entrance to the sewers.

"Okay! Let's go!" he said and he and the team (along with R.O.B and Mr. Stevenson) entered into the Sub-Con sewers.

* * *

Meanwhile in the dark laboratory of the Nexus Palace, the Warp Portal remained still as pond in a windless day. Then it started ripple and wobble as something invisible stepped out of the portal. As if in response, the lights within the laboratory switched on, banishing the darkness and shadows away. The invisible being took a few paces forward, shimmered for a second and Maddox materialised. The man placed the disc like device on a table and walked to the control panel of the Warp Portal. He punched in a few commands and codes and the doors concealing the portal closed over it. Maddox glanced around at his laboratory in silence, as if contemplating his next move on what to do next. But Maddox was never an idle man and would often take walks to help him think. Making his way to the laboratory doors, Maddox opened them, switched off the lights and took a stroll through the corridors of the Palace; both aimless and purposeful.

* * *

The conference room had once again erupted into chaos. It was a tremendous shock to hear that the Jeweled Scepter was now gone from its chamber within the Sol Realm. The air of panic was eventually calmed by the Queen who decided to temporarily suspend the meeting until she can come up with method on how to approach this latest news. The other members of the High Council agreed and everyone except Dr. Light and Palutena left the chamber back into their respectful Realms.  
Dr. Light took it upon himself to check upon the development of a line of worker robots that can be either be built as regular sized units or as gigantic behemoths of metal that have to be controlled via remote and motion controller by someone in a virtual simulation suit and area. Queen Alana took the opportunity to leave the room for some fresh air and to 'think more clearly', leaving Palutena alone in the conference room to communicate with Pit on his mission.

Queen Alana strolled through the corridors, half accepting and half ignoring the members of staff within the Palace that strolled by and bowed to her in respect. She felt like that events were moving at ninety miles per hour and she was struggling to keep up and to keep ahead. There were times were she felt like she wanted to abandon the crown and the kingdom and escape to a Realm where there was no conflict and live a life of blissful isolation.

But the fact of her responsibilities and the free people of the Realms are counting on her and the High Council soon brought her back to reality. Queen Alana knew that she had to set an example to everyone, to remind everyone that she was the true Queen of Nexus. She rounded a corner and nearly bumped into Maddox. The man skidded to a halt just in time and tensed slightly when seeing the Queen. Alana gripped her staff tighter, clearly haven't forgotten their recent argument.

"I take it the meeting is over?" asked Maddox flatly.

"Temporarily suspended due to a crisis." said Alana coldly, "The Jeweled Scepter from the Sol Realm has gone missing. Without it, the Realm would fall into geological chaos."

Maddox looked mildly surprised at the news.

"Really?" he replied, "Reckon it might be Eggman Nega again? Thought we locked him up a while ago."

"We don't know who took it and how." Alana snapped, although not meaning to, "We're still investigating the situation. At the moment, the 8 Bit Gang is roaming the Realm and already causing trouble."

"What those third-rate bunch of pixel-heads?" Maddox scoffed, "Huh! They couldn't raid and capture some air-headed princess' castle with two hands and a guide book!"

"I've already sent Pit and R.O.B with a team to apprehend them." said Alana, choosing to ignore Maddox's jibe towards Princess Peach, "Though how they managed to escape from prison, I have no idea."

"Such troubling times ahead of us." said Maddox sourly, "Of course, none of this would've happened if I was still Captain N.."

"Maddox!" the Queen hissed through gritted teeth, "Don't think I've forgotten about what happened earlier. Are you really that bitter that you would barge into a meeting to express your bile in front of the High Council? Why can't you just let the past go, take comfort of the lives you've saved and for once truly contribute to our cause to maintain peace? And another thing and I've got asked this question a lot lately; why did you come back to the Virtual universe in the first place?"

To the Queens' surprise, Maddox didn't react negatively to her words and met her gaze firmly. Maddox let out a huge sigh, slowly blinked his eyes and glanced at the floor. His face was a mask of weariness and melancholy. This caught Queen Alana off guard slightly, for she only saw him like this since he returned to the Palace all those years ago. Finally, Maddox spoke; his voice was shaky and sullen.

"Look, I've been trying to do what I can for this place, I really have... I do take the job of finding solutions to all of our problems seriously, even if it is deemed questionable by others. But when you're a socially awkward and introverted video-gamer living within a closed minded, apathetic and intolerant society that demands so-called 'perfection', your own sense and view of what's right and wrong, of what's fair and unfair, will always be irrevocably unbalanced...  
The worst part of being a person like me is that other people expect you to behave as if you are not. Nobody ever thinks about what it's like to be the other person and to be in his or her shoes. They never do and they'll never understand! They always want you to hide behind some mask or persona, as if they want you to be part of some group rather than standing out from the norm! To be somebody but your true self! They expect that we'll just sit down, be a good little child and conform to their indoctrinations of their narratives and agendas! It's almost as if they're afraid of you being different! Everybody would make it their mission to micromanage your very life, criticise you at every turn and scrutinise you for that supposed 'unsavoury agenda and beliefs' that you possess! All of those just to drag you down into the dirt and to make themselves look superior! It's almost as if the warmth of human comfort and empathy have been snuffed out completely! Their so-called 'civilisation' is not driven by reason, hope, kindness and decency, but by suspicion, paranoia, ignorance, hypocrisy, malice and philistinism! That's the biggest reason why I came back from the real world...it truly became something that I could no longer countenance co-existing with..." 

Maddox sighed and walked on down the corridor, his footsteps echoing in the silence. Queen Alana watched him go, a twinge of sympathy knotting up inside her. She couldn't imagine how awful Maddox's upbringing might've been and how such an environment had shaped him into who is now and what he was back then. With a somewhat heavy heart, Alana turned on her heel and strolled back to the conference room.

* * *

Within the Sub-Con sewers, the strike team made their way through the winding semi-dark corridors, the trickling sound of burbling water masking their footsteps. R.O.B glided along the flat surface of the floor, its motors emitting a low hum as it set its systems to stealth mode. Pit jogged ahead of the team, never once making a sound and in constant telepathic conference with Palutena. Due to the confines of the sewers, the Power of Flight (the ability to fly granted by Palutena) would be somewhat pointless and can be saved for another time. The strike team traversed through the sewers what seemed like ages, though in reality it was only ten minutes. Suddenly, Pit held up a hand and the team came to a halt. In amidst the trickling of water, there was the sound of voices from around the left hand corner. It was a mixture of voices; most of them jeering and threatening whilst one female voice sounded brave and defiant. Pit remained where he was, arm still outstretched for the team to remain silent and await for his next command, taking great pains not to be heard.

* * *

King Wart straightened himself up slightly, secretly hoping that the girl was intimidated by his appearance. Unfortunately for him, Keeva wasn't entirely scared by him as she continued to glower at him. The self-proclaimed king glanced around at the other members of the gang, as if considering which member to set upon the young woman. Each one looked eager to inflict pain upon Keeva, some of the rubbing their hands with glee.

"If I were you girl," said King Wart, "I'd choose your next witticism very carefully, it could be your last."

Keeva looked around herself, taking in the leering faces staring at her as if waiting for her to say the wrong thing. Her hands wiggled and writhed as she tried grasped the rope that bounded her arms to her sides. She hoped that a quick of adrenaline might help her out of the ropes and to make a run for it. But seeing how outnumbered she was, Keeva's hopes of a quick getaway where soundly dashed and the probability of a full-on fight has now become a definite. The young woman came to a consensus that if she was going to go out, she'll go out fighting. Keeva met King Wart's eyes and glared defiantly at him.

"The only thing that you're a King of is of scoundrels and these sewers." she hissed, "Bet that crown and necklace you wear is fake anyway."

"My regalia is real enough to make you look like a tramp!" King Wart snapped, "Which is fitting since you stole the money I paid Foreman Spike with!"

"And do you think that's gonna make me hand over your ill-gotten funds like that?!" Keeva countered, snapping her fingers on her right hand with a '**CLICK**'.

Suddenly, Keeva's right hand started to glow in a faint blue light, mainly emanating from the finger-less glove she wore. The glow caught Keeva's attention and her eyes widened with surprise. King Wart and his cronies also watched with astonishment as they saw the fingerless glove began to shift and change shape. Keeva watched the glow climb half way up her forearm and feel something solidify over it and her whole hand. The glow abruptly went out and Keeva found herself looking at what had materialised over her hand and half her forearm.

It was a dark grey futuristic looking gauntlet with a light grey smooth edged rectangle over where the wrist and the back were. The rectangle had a black vertical line and circle running through the centre with small symbols on each side. At the end of the rectangle ran a small black pipe leading to another smooth edged light grey rectangle that covered the knuckles. In the centre of that rectangle was an orb that seemed to glow in a faint white light.

Keeva's mouth hung ajar in awe with what just happened. She felt a strange sensation flow through her hand, as if some form of power was making her feel stronger. Keeva glanced at her other hand and wondered if the same thing would happen. Before anyone can stop her, Keeva snapped her fingers of her left hand with a '**CLICK**'. Just like the right hand, the left hand finger-less glove emitted the same faint blue light as it morphed and changed shape. The glow suddenly abated and an identical hi-tech glove materialised over Keeva's left hand and forearm. The young woman felt the strange energies flow through her left arm, making her feel even more stronger than she felt from a few seconds ago. King Wart's eyes bulged with disbelief at what just happened, but soon regained himself.

"Have you been keeping that a secret until the right moment?!" he said accusingly.

"No I have not!" Keeva snapped, "I didn't know that would happen!"

"Liar!" King Wart barked, "You've been planning this all along! All of this to trap us and hand us to the authorities!"

"Will you listen for once, you big, fat, stupid, arrogant frog!" Keeva retorted hotly, "I've only just arrived in this universe and already I've found myself in trouble with no way of knowing of what's going on!"

"My word is law!" Wart shouted, sounding a bit like a spoiled child, "Everything I say and judge always ring true and I say you're a liar and trouble-maker!"

"Oh for goodness sake!" Keeva groaned aloud in frustration, clenching her gauntleted hands into fists and straining against the ropes binding her.

As soon as she clenched her fists, the orb on the gloves glowed steadily and an electronic trilling rang out from the gloves, growing in volume. At the height of the noise, Keeva have one last heave against the ropes and felt a surge of unknown energy inside her giving her strength. In a sudden light blue flash from the orbs, Keeva's arms flung wide apart, snapping the rope into several pieces. the glow and the trilling noise ceased as soon as her arms were free. The young woman looked around her surprise, seeing her arms free and from feeling the surge of strength within her. She had a look that said, 'Did I really just do that?!' on her face. Her shock turned to worry as she saw the look of alarm on Wart's face. The gigantic frog pointed a clawed finger at her.

"8 Bit Gang! Sic her!" he squawked.

Instantly Keeva found herself fighting for her life as Clawgrip scuttled towards her with his claws open. The huge crab lunged out with a claw, to which Keeva dodged swiftly and hearing the '**CLICK**' of the claw snapping shut by her ear. The young woman was now acting on instinct and adrenaline, her mind only half registering on what she was doing. Clawgrip withdrew his claw and thrusted out with the other. The orbs on Keeva's gloves flashed briefly as she caught the top and bottom part of the claw with both hands. Clawgrip snickered as he prepared to strike again with his free pincer.

"Snip snip snip!" he chanted in a clicking tone of voice.

Unbeknownst to the pair, Mouser had crept around the side and was preparing to tackle Keeva to the ground. The young woman glanced at her left and saw the oversized rodent charge at her. Thinking fast, Keeva side stepped sharply to the right, still grasping at the pincers. Clawgrip's free claw lunged forward, but didn't find its mark. At the same time, Mouser stumbled forward as Keeva dodged out of the way and the pincer of Clawgrip's claw clamped down on Mouser's tail. The rodent yowled and danced with pain as he struggled to free his tail from the crab's claw. Clawgrip's eyes widened with shock as he realised his mistake, but it was too late.

Keeva took a firm grip on the claw in her gloved hands, the orbs glowing and emitting the same trilling sound. Feeling the same surge of strength inside her, Keeva gritted her teeth and swung Clawgrip round in a mighty arc, bring the squealing Mouser with him. At the end of the arc, Keeva released Clawgrip, sending the giant crab and Mouser crashing into King Wart, knocking the frog off his feet. The orbs stopped glowing afterwards, leaving Keeva standing in awe and shock at her newfound strength and power. She glanced at the hi-tech gauntlets in wonder.

"What **are** these gloves?!" she breathed, "More to the point, who made them?"

She got no further in her bewildered thoughts as she suddenly felt something hard slam against her arm. She grimaced and saw it was a large egg that hit her. Keeva glanced around and saw Birdo with her snout slightly enlarged. Birdo's head jerked forwards slightly, spitting out another egg at Keeva. The young woman brought both arms up to her face and the egg deflected off her gauntlets. Fryguy hovered towards Keeva, his flames flickering furiously. Keeva squinted from the glare of the flames coming towards her and feeling the heat that Fryguy was emanating. Birdo's snout swelled up again and spat out another egg, but Keeva was ready for it. Dropping her arms down, she reached out and caught the egg with one hand. Turning slightly, Keeva threw the egg like a football towards Fryguy. The egg caught the living fireball square in the face, knocking him back several feet.

Phanto had crept up behind Keeva, attempting to ambush her like last time. Grinning wickedly, the sentient mask flew over Keeva's head and shot backwards with the dark side facing Keeva, as if trying to plant itself on her face. Keeva gasped with alarm at what was happening and ducked down. Phanto flew through the air, its face breaking into a frown from being thwarted.

"Oh no, not this time mate." said Keeva under her breath.

She clenched her fist tightly, readying to issue a punch. The orb on the glove glowed and the trilling noise filled the air. This time, the glow spread itself over the gauntlet and the orb shone in a bright white light. Spinning on the spot to face her attacker, Keeva drew her fist back and struck Phanto. A small explosion of bright blue light flashed and Phanto shot backwards like a ball being hit by a baseball bat, crashing into the wall behind it. Keeva panted for breath as her mind briefly marvelled at the strength and power of her gloves, wondering what else can they do. She looked over her shoulder and saw Birdo looking horrified at what just happened. With her will to fight diminished, Birdo squawked and ran for the nearest source of cover to hide in. King Wart untangled himself from Clawgrip and Mouser, seething with rage and pointed furiously at Keeva.

"Don't just stand there you idiots! Get her!" he roared at Albatoss and Tryclyde.

More out of fear of Wart's wrath than loyalty, the two remain members nodded vigorously. It was Albatoss that acted first, spreading his wings wide and started flapping them hard, creating gusts of wind. Keeva raised an arm to shield herself and braced her feet to steady herself. Suddenly, Keeva felt something hard strike the back of her legs, causing her to fall on her back. She winched with pain and tried to stand up, but something smooth and thick had wrapped around her legs and torso and started to squeeze. Keeva wheezed from being constricted and looked up to find Tryclyde in front of her, all three heads grinning menacencingly. It was him that had snuck up behind Keeva and struck her off balance.

"Arms, legs, head; so many juicy snacks, yet so little time." said Tryclyde, all three heads speaking as one.

Albatoss came towards Keeva and pinned her arms to the floor with his talons. Keeva struggled to free herself from both the snake and the bird, but with very little success. King Wart stood up to his full height, kicking aside Mouser and Clawgrip and dusting himself off.

"Well, don't mess around you two! Waste her!" King Wart barked.

Keeva wriggled and thrashed to free herself like an eel on dry land. For the first time, she felt the undeniable chill of fear rush through her, as if she realised that this is the moment that she was going to die. All of a sudden, a loud unknown voice rang out.

"**GO!**"

A few dull metallic '**CHOOM!**'s rang out and three metal canisters entered the room, one of them hitting Albatoss on the head and nearly knocking him out. The big bird's talons released Keeva's arms as Albatoss staggered back. The canisters landed on the floor and let out jets of pale grey gas. King Wart immediately covered his mouth with an arm as he cried out in alarm.

"They've found us! 8 Bit Gang, to me!"

But by the time the other members of the gang regained their senses, it was too late to react to the new threat. Tryclyde looked over in alarm to where the new intruders were, taking his eyes off Keeva. With her arms free, the young woman reached out, grabbed a head in each gauntleted hand and brought them crashing against the middle head. The force of the blow knocked out the three headed serpent and his coils around Keeva slackened.

"Hate to think of the medical bill you'd get for concussion." Keeva quiped as she wiggled out Tryclyde's coils.

Then she started to cough and her eyes watered from the gas emmited from the canisters. She saw that it was affecting the 8 Bit Gang as well. Through her slightly blurry vision, Keeva saw silhouettes within the growing grey fog and voices that were saying, "Don't move! You're all under arrest!" Keeva knew that she have to get out of there fast before she lands herself into even more trouble. But before she even make a move, a large hand grabbed her arm and hoisted her off the ground. It was King Wart, his eyes were red and welling with tears from the gas.

"Dont think you'll get away with this easily!" he raged, "I'll give you a royal lesson to bad that-"

He got no further as Keeva brought a fully charged punch to his stomach. The frog's eyes crossed as he let out a wheeze of pain and dropped Keeva from his grasp, clasping at his midriff.

"Stitch that, you oversized tadpole!" Keeva retorted between coughs.

The gas was becoming thicker and the unknown attacks were apprehending the gang members. Not wishing her chances any further, Keeva ran as fast she could towards the exit. She barged through anyone that got in her way, narrowly avoiding the strong arms that tried to restrain her. Keeva rounded a corner and sprinted down the sewer, never once looking around herself. She heard a voice behind her call out.

"Wait! Stop! We're here to help you! Wait!"

But Keeva wasn't listening. Blinded by panic and tears brought on by the gas, she pressed on, heedless of where she was going. Another voice rang out behind her, but this one was a grating metallic voice that instantly made her listen.

"HALT AT ONCE! HALT OR YOU WILL BE DISABLED!"

Driven by terror, Keeva continued to run. The electronic whine of an energy beam being discharged rang out and Keeva felt a sudden pain on the back of her right thigh, making her cry out and almost fell forwards. She stumbled and regained her feet, but her leg throbbed with pain and pins and needles slowly started to spread to her whole right leg. Keeva looked behind her and saw the sihouette of a blocky looking robot with a circular base gliding towards her, its glassy eyes shining in the dim light. The metallic voice rang out again, coming from the robot advancing towards her.

"DO NOT MOVE OR YOU WILL BE DISABLED!"

Keeva forced herself onwards, almost dragging her nearly numb leg behind her. She grimaced with each painful step, her naked terror increasing at the sight of the robot coming towards her...


	7. Chapter 6

King Wart's eyes watered from the stinging effects of the gas. He coughed a few times as he struggled to get to his feet. His midsection throbbed from when Keeva punched him earlier. Though the gas filled room and fat warm tears, King Wart saw his gang being apprehended one by one. Tryclyde's heads were being put into three sacks and secured with cords. Clawgrip had both of his pincers sealed together with strong tape. Phanto and Fryguy were being placed inside sturdy glass and metal boxes so that couldn't float away. Mouser, Albatoss and Birdo was placed in cuffs and binding cords, with Birdo incessantly complaining throughout the whole thing.  
King Wart tried to rise back on his feet and free his gang, but he felt a sharp blade underneath his chin. His puffy red eyes glanced up and saw Pit standing over him, his gold and blue metal bow separated to form two small swords.

"I won't do that if I were you." warned Pit, "If wanna remain in one piece, I would be a bit more cooperative."

King Wart shot Pit a venomous glance, but the angel remained unfazed.

"First of all, how did you and your cronies managed to escape from your prison in the Tartarus Realm?" Pit demanded.

The oversized frog didn't answer, gritting his teeth with barely restrained anger.

"One way or the other, you'll have answer to the Queen for your crimes." said Pit, "Not to mention two acts of kidnapping."

The sound of footsteps coming up behind Pit caught his attention. It was Mr. Stevenson, his firearm brandished in one hand.

"Pit! The girl we're looking for...she's gone!" he panted, trying hard not to inhale the gas.

"Gone?! Gone where?!" Pit said in alarm.

"She must've ran off when we burst in." said Mr. Stevenson, "Poor girl must've been frightened by what was going on. R.O.B has gone after her."

"I'll take a few members of the squad with me." said Pit, "We'll find her soon enough."

Unfortunately, Pit had taken his eyes off King Wart, who had been listening to the whole conversation. Spurred on by rage and thoughts of revenge, King Wart took a gamble and acted accordingly. With a growl, he squinted his eyes, rose to his feet and swatted Pit and Mr. Stevenson aside like skittles. King Wart made a beeline towards the exit, ignoring the shouts of alarm behind him and narrowly avoiding crashing into the nearby wall due to his eyes stinging from the gas.

King Wart emerged from the room, skidded to a brief halt and thundered towards the direction where Keeva had took. His eyes started to clear as he ran, glad to away from the gas filled room. He risked a quick glance behind him and saw Pit and three members of the squad emerged from the room and raised their weapons. King Wart let out a throaty wheezing laugh as he ran faster down the corridors of the sewers, knowing that he was out of range of their weapons. He ran on and on like a runaway juggernaut, ignoring the sounds of footsteps far behind him and filling mind with numerous ways he would make Keeva suffer.

* * *

Mr. Stevenson got to his feet and staggered out of the room. He watched Pit and three Mii's race after King Wart down the sewers. He let out a sigh and holstered his gun into its sheathe. The man turned to face the others escorting the rest of the 8 Bit Gang from their hideout. Mr. Stevenson mused that the gang was like a house of cards; take one important card away and the rest will fall down. Yet the most dangerous member was still at liberty and most likely seeking to inflict retribution upon Keeva. The fact that King Wart remained at large filled the man with disgust and made him wish to see that criminal shackled and behind bars personally, especially after his cronies had kidnapped his daughter earlier. Mr. Stevenson barked a command to the squad to take the gang up to the surface and he ran down the sewer corridor after Pit.

* * *

Keeva half stumbled half dragged herself down the sewer corridor, her right leg nearly completely numb from a laser shot set to stun. Her green eyes darted from side to side, like two rats trying to find a way out of a confined space, the whirring sounds of the robot behind her getting nearer. Then, something caught her eye; it was a flight of stairs to her right. Keeva grimaced and swung herself towards the stairs, taking them at least two or three at a time. She stamped her leg with each step, trying to reinvigorate life back into it. The sounds of the robot approaching echoed in narrow confines of the stairway, driving Keeva onwards with greater urgency.

By the time she managed to reach the top, Keeva felt exhausted and rested a hand upon the wall as she looked down. The robot appeared at the bottom on the stairs, its rectangular box shaped head looked down at the foot of the stairs and slowly looked up at Keeva. The young woman noticed the base of the robot and figured that it wasn't designed for accessing a flight of stairs. She panted heavily for breath, nursing her leg and savouring her small victory. For a while, the robot (which was in actuality R.O.B) scanned the stairs and Keeva, as if calculating on what to do next.

"Not used to stairs I take it?" Keeva taunted, "Tends to be a common fault with ones that have a rounded base."

Keeva was about to leave when the grating metallic voice rang out.

"ELEVATE!"

R.O.B slowly started to rise off the floor and glide up the stairs, propelled by powerful thrusters on the underside of its base. Keeva's blood chilled as she saw the robot rise up towards her slowly, cursing herself for speaking out earlier. Adrenaline fuelled her body once again and she ran down the corridor on her right. She was starting to get some feeling back into her leg again, but the pain from the pins and needles still caused her great discomfort. R.O.B had reached the top and continued its pursuit, its voice echoing in the corridor.

"HALT OR YOU WILL BE DISABLED!"

Keeva's breath laboured raggedly within her chest as she ran, wishing for a door to appear for her to open and close behind her. Another set of stairs appeared on her right and Keeva ran up them three at a time. At the top was a sturdy looking door. Keeva tried the handle and found it to be stiff from disuse. She wrestled furiously with the handle, but it wouldn't budge. A faint humming noise behind her told Keeva that R.O.B was gliding up the stairs after her. In a panic, Keeva clenched her fist ready for a punch. The trilling noise of the gloves grew to its full pitch and the orb glowed bright blue. Keeva drew back her fist and slammed it at the door. There was a loud '**CLANG!**' and the door suddenly swung outwards, almost taken completely off its hinges. Not waiting to for anything, Keeva ran through the door, made about five metres before stopping to check her surroundings.

Keeva found herself within a smallish neatly trimmed field with trees lined all around it. Behind her, the door was part of a small box shaped entrance into the sewers. Keeva had the impression that this was small field where people would gather around for either a day out or a picnic on a sunny day. Keeva was grateful for the fresh air as her chest heaved up and down with each breath. Sweat beaded her forehead and made her fringes stick to her face. A metallic clanking rang out behind her and Keeva looked over her shoulder to see R.O.B emerge from the wrecked doorway. The young woman fell to her knees in defeat, too exhausted to run anymore. She was beginning to see how relentless this robot was in its mission. R.O.B got halfway towards her and then came to a halt, seeing that Keeva wasn't making any attempt to run again.

"YOU WILL REMAIN HERE." it intoned, "FURTHER ATTEMPTS OF DEVIATION WILL ACHIEVE NO FAVOURABLE OUTCOME."

"What do you want with me..?" said Keeva wearily.

"YOU ARE TO BE DETAINED UNTIL THE SQUAD ARRIVES." said R.O.B, "THE CRIMINALS ARE BEING APPREHENDED AS WE SPEAK."

"But I'm not a criminal!" said Keeva defensively, "It was them that took me after using a little girl as bait!"

"THAT INFORMATION IS ALREADY KNOWN." R.O.B replied, "THE SQUAD WAS SENT TO BOTH APPREHEND THE CRIMINALS AND TO BRING YOU TO SAFETY."

The statement hit Keeva like a hammer on a pane of glass. She looked over her shoulder at the robot.

"'Safety'?" she replied, "I was nearly gassed in that chamber and you shot me in the leg earlier! How is that bring me to safety?!"

"IT WAS SET TO STUN FUNCTION." said R.O.B, "YOUR APPENDAGE WILL RECOVER SHORTLY. IN THE PRESENCE OF THE 8 BIT GANG, MARGINS FOR ERRORS MUST BE KEPT AT ZERO."

"Is that supposed to reassure me?!" Keeva asked sceptically, "I've only just arrived in this world earlier and already I've been dragged into so much trouble! It's like I can't even catch a break in this world!"

There was short pause as her angry words hung in the air. During that moment, Keeva felt like she was being analysed by the robot, as if it was trying to understand her mood and emotions. Finally, R.O.B spoke up.

"YOUR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS IS...UNDERSTANDABLE AND LOGICAL. RECOMMENDATION: ALLOW PERIOD OF REST UNTIL FULL RECOVERY OF PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL BEING."

Keeva was surprised at the response. As she nursed her leg to feel again, the young woman wondered if she had reacted harshly or foolishly during her attempt of escape. It was clearly evident that she underestimated R.O.B of its capabilities and its level of intelligence and reason. Keeva looked at the gloves on her hands, flexing her fingers experimentally. Despite looking slightly bulky, the material was actually very flexible and fitted her hands rather snugly. Keeva had a sudden thought, brought both hands up and snapped her fingers at the same.

The gauntlets glowed in the same light blue light and began to fade away, leaving behind the familiar finger-less gloves that she found earlier. She wondered if she can make the gauntlets appear and disappear at will or whether there was a cool-down period to them. Slowly, Keeva rose to her feet, stretching herself upwards and to her surprise, her right leg had fully recovered. She massaged her leg with one hand to be sure and she found that, apart from being a little bit stiff, she had full control of it at last.

"Don't worry mate, I'm just limbering up. I'm not going anywhere." she said without looking at R.O.B.

R.O.B didn't respond, though it understood what the young woman was doing. A sudden noise from behind it caused the box like head to swivel around. Before it can raise an alarm, a massive green hand swatted the robot away to one side. The noise caused Keeva to turn around. Emerging from the doorway was King Wart, his eyes red rimmed and squinting with rage. He bared his teeth in a snarl as he took a step towards Keeva.

"You and me are gonna have words!" he growled.

Keeva took a step backwards with alarm, stunned at King Warts' tenacity. She snapped both her fingers and the gauntlets materialised over her hands, readying herself for another fight.

"Are you really that dense?!" she challenged, "When are you gonna take the hint that I have nothing to do with your gang of thugs being carted off to the slammer!?"

"I am the King of this Realm!" King Wart retorted arrogantly, "I have the final say on what happened and my word is irrefutable!"

"Somehow I can picture you having a career in politics." said Keeva with a smirk.

"I am higher than any politician out there for I am the law!" King Wart barked.

"On second thought, I take it back." said Keeva, clenching her fists, "You're too much of a horrible liar to be a politician."

"Enough of this prattle!" the giant frog roared, "I'll give you a true royal whupping!"

King Wart sprinted towards Keeva and swung his left fist towards her. Keeva dodged to one side and the green fist slammed onto the ground where she was before. King Wart turned and swung his right fist in a mighty arc. Keeva brought both gauntleted hands up in an X shape to shield herself. The fist collided with the gauntlets with a '**CLANG!**', the impact sent Keeva skidding over two metres backwards. The young woman grimaced from the impact and the gauntlets rang slightly over her hands. Bracing her feet apart, she clenched her right hand, letting the energies build up for a punch.

King Wart charged and swung another fist around in a wide arc. Keeva ducked, rose herself and her glowing fist upwards in an uppercut and caught King Wart square on the chin. There was a brief bright blue flash and the giant frog like being was lifted nearly clean off his feet from the blow. His small crown flew off his head and landed on the grass nearby. King Wart fell backwards and landed hard on the ground. Keeva straightened herself and caught her breath.

"Look, if you don't want further humiliation," she panted, "I suggest you stay down and wait for the proper authorities."

But King Wart wasn't having any of it. He suddenly sat up and brought a fist along with him. Keeva only just managed to dodge it, but the impact of the fist crashing upon the grass nearly caused her to overbalance and fall backwards. Taking advantage of this, King Wart withdrew his fist and sprang to his feet, widening his stance for a fight. Keeva recovered herself, clenched her fist and thrust it forward at King Wart's midriff. But King Wart reacted a fraction of a second quicker and caught the fist in both hands. The young woman's blood chilled and tried to pull her fist away, but King Wart had a firm grip on it.

"Don't think I haven't learned from last time!" said King Wart.

He turned around, pulling Keeva with him in a swing. She let out a cry of alarm as felt her feet leave the ground and was swung around in a wide arc. At the point of a full circle, King Wart released his grip upon Keeva's gauntleted hand. Keeva let out a small scream as she flew a short distance before landing and rolling upon the ground several times. She felt the turf and grass impact on her skin and body as she bounced and rolled from the roll, finally coming to a stop near the tree line.

She grimaced from the numerous impacts she suffered and struggled to her knees. Keeva realised that King Wart isn't exactly a pushover that she thought he was. She glanced over at King Wart and saw R.O.B lying on its side at the far end from when the giant frog swatted it away. She wondered if the robot would get back upon its base. Gritting her teeth and forcing herself back on her feet, Keeva clenched both hands, making both orbs on the gauntlets glow bright.

"Okay, you oversized toad!" she growled, "You want a whupping? Well you've got one right here!"

King Wart retrieved his fallen crown from the ground and placed it on his head. He cracked his knuckles and glared at Keeva.

"We'll soon see about that!" he retorted.

With that, Keeva charged towards King Wart and both their fists collided with each other.

* * *

In the sewer corridors, Mr. Stevenson had only just caught up to Pit and the three Mii accompanying him. They found the stairs to the right where Keeva, R.O.B and King Wart had taken and were making their way up them.

"Why have decided to tag along with me Mr. Stevenson?" asked Pit.

"The others can handle the rest of the gang." said Mr. Stevenson, "Plus, I owe Keeva one. She helped save my daughter, now I intend to save her. Plus, I personally wanna see King Wart behind bars after this."

"The main question is how the 8 Bit gang managed to escape in the first place." said Pit, "Either they got lucky or had outside help."

"But who would gain anything by releasing the 8 Bit Gang from the Tartarus Realm and setting them upon Nexus?" Mr. Stevenson pondered.

"Well, as soon as we get King Wart, we'll make him croak out what we need to know." said Pit grimly.

* * *

Keeva and King Wart continued to battle each other within the small field. Fists smashed upon each other and upon the ground, churning up some mud in the process. King Wart had an advantage in height, strength and power, but Keeva more than made for it by being more nimble, youthful and possessing the hi-tech gauntlets. All the while, R.O.B (who had breifly shut down after being swatted aside) had rebooted itself back online and jerked its head to see ensuing fight. Power started to flow within its appendages and movement circuits as it regained itself.

King Wart had resorted to swinging his broad arms outwards as if to swat Keeva aside. He swung out his arm too wide and left himself open. Keeva quickly drew her fist and lashed out forward. But it didn't connect to his midriff or his chin. The was the sound of metal crumpling and bending as the gauntleted fist slammed onto King Wart's pendant. Almost guiltily, Keeva withdrew her hand and took a few steps back. The pendant looked like it had been stamped upon. King Wart looked down in astonishment at what remained of his pendant and his blood boiled to a fever pitch.

"My pendant!" he wailed furiously, "Right! This is war! Time to break out my anti-vegetable bubbles!"

Before Keeva can find out about King Wart's somewhat ridiculous exclaim, a mechanical whirring rang out. Both of them turned to see R.O.B moving itself upon the ground, almost looking and acting like an upended turtle. But, to their surprise and with surprising skill and ease, R.O.B propped itself back upon its base and faced King Wart boldly. The rims of its glassy eyes glowed red slightly, as if it was starting to express a form of anger.

"SURRENDER!" R.O.B squawked.

King Wart glowered at the robot disdainfully.

"You!? A boxy bucket of bolts telling me to surrender!?" he sneered, "You have a lot of nerve for a robot!"

R.O.B didn't react to the insults, remaining impassive and collective as it calculated its next move. The red ring around its eyes grew fatter with each passing second. Keeva felt rather unnerved at the sight, predicting that King Wart was going to be on the receiving end of the robot's wrath.

"If I were you," she muttered, "I'd do what it says."

"And what is that tacky little drone gonna do to me?!" King Wart scoffed.

Almost as if answering King Wart's question, R.O.B's voice rang out.

"ALLOCATED SURRENDER PERIOD EXPIRED. CONSEQUENCE: IMMOBILISATION!"

The robot's glassy eyes became two glowing red discs and a whine of energy building up inside it can be heard. R.O.B turned its box like head towards King Wart. Keeva realised what it was about to do and bolted away from King Wart. But the self-pro-claimed monarch reacted quicker and grabbed her by the back of her jacket. Keeva yelped as she felt the big clawed hand yank her backwards. A high pitched whine rang out and a red-white bolt of energy lanced from R.O.B's eyes. It struck King Wart square in the chest, bathing him in a faint red light and thin bolts of red lightning crackled over his body. King Wart stood stock still, his face contorted in a silent scream of pain. Unfortunately, because of his hand on Keeva's jacket, the effects of the immobilising beam partially travelled upon the young woman.

Keeva stood rigid and screamed as the paralysing effects washed over her body. She felt like her whole body was on fire and feeling the worst case of electrical shock she ever experienced. As suddenly as the came, the red glow and lightning faded, leaving King Wart standing rigid and smoking slightly. He let out a moan of pain and toppled backwards, his hand letting go of Keeva. The young woman slumped to the ground, all the fight snuffed out of her body. Keeva's eyes were barely open, her breath ragged with the pain all over body. Her hearing was partially muffled due to her phasing in and out of consciousness. For the first time in a long time, Keeva began to understand the meaning of term 'a world of hurt'.

R.O.B stood still, almost stunned that it had hurt Keeva in the process of immobilising King Wart. Being a robot, it couldn't quite grasp the concept of the emotions known as guilt and shame. But the wave of calculations and information that flooded its memory banks from the apparent mistake it made was the rough equivalent to those emotions. It made an electronic note to itself to run a full diagnosis of its systems when it returned to the Palace.

A noise from the doorway caught R.O.B's attention. Pit, Mr. Stevenson and the three Miis' emerged from the doorway from the sewer with weapons brandished. When they noticed King Wart's prone form on the ground, they holstered their weapons. Pit noticed R.O.B and strolled towards him.

"Report R.O.B!" he commanded.

"TARGET HAS BEEN IMMOBILISED." said R.O.B, "THE WOMAN REQUIRES A HEALING FIELD. SHE WAS CAUGHT IN THE IMMOBILISATION BEAM..."

The robot's head drooped slightly with apparent shame. Pit glanced over at Keeva's prone body and grimaced, not wishing to imagine the amount of pain she went through. Two of the Miis' were in the process of putting King Wart in cuffs and restraints. Mr. Stevenson and the last Mii went towards Keeva's prone body and knelt down beside her. The Mii flicked a switch on his arm cannon and a thin green laser beam appeared at the top, pointing at Keeva's body. The arm cannon let out a few bleeps and bloops and the laser bean switched off. The Mii scanned the readings on the screen of the arm cannon and nodded.

"She's still alive, but she'll need medical attention." he informed.

"Does anyone have a Healing Field?" asked Mr. Stevenson.

One of the Miis' typed a code into her arm cannon and pointed it at the ground by Keeva. A transparent blue light emerged from the barrel like a film projector and the outline of a Healing Field began to materialise. A few seconds later, the blue beam vanished and a Healing Field manifested. Mr. Stevenson manoeuvred Keeva close to the Healing Field, touched the item to activate it, stood up and walked over towards King Wart. The oversized frog had just come round and was growling in anger of being shackled and without the strength to fight. He glanced up and saw the look of grim fury on Mr. Stevenson's face.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't grab a Hammer and bash your fat head in!" he barked.

King Wart scowled and snarled at him, but didn't respond. Pit placed a hand on Mr. Stevenson's shoulder as if to restrain him from lashing out.

"You're better than that." said the angel, turning his attention towards King Wart, "Either way, you need to answer my question from earlier. How did you escape from the Tartarus Realm?"

King Wart glowered at Pit and tried to stand tall, which wasn't easy due to the pins and needles in his stubby legs. He met Pit's blue eyes and spoke through gritted teeth.

"I will know...by what power I am called hither...and when I know by what lawful-"

King Wart got no further as Mr. Stevenson stamped on his foot. The giant frog groaned in pain and glared at the man.

"Just answer the question toadie!" Mr. Stevenson barked.

"Okay okay!" King Wart replied "Me and the 8 Bit Gang were assisted in our escape!"

"Who helped you escape?" asked Pit firmly.

"I don't know!" King Wart blurted, "He didn't say his name or anything. Just told us there was a opportunity with Nexus!"

Pit and Mr. Stevenson looked at each other briefly before Pit asked another question.

"What did this person look like?"

"He wore a long dark cloak." said King Wart, "Kept himself in the shadows and he wore a pair of gold gauntlets. Ornate looking as well.."

The pair looked at each other again, pondering if King Wart was trying to deceive them. R.O.B glided beside them and looked at the prisoner up and down studiously. Pit gave R.O.B a sideways glance.

"What do you think R.O.B?" he asked.

R.O.B's eyes whirred and whined as it scrutinised King Wart's body activity in conjunction with his statement.

"ANALYSIS INDICATES TRUTHFUL RESPONSE." said the robot.

Pit and Mr. Stevenson were surprised by the news, but recovered themselves shortly. Pit placed his hands behind his back and flexed his wings experimentally.

"Still, you'll have to answer for your crimes committed in this Realm." he stated, "Take him away with the others."

The Miis' nodded and hauled King Wart away through the field and past the trees into the world beyond. Mr. Stevenson let out a huge sigh of relief and placed his hands in the pockets of his coat.

"I'm glad that is over with." he breathed.

"That it is Mr. Stevenson." agreed Pit, "But there's one other mystery to solve. Who was it that broke the 8 Bit Gang out of the Tartarus Realm and what did he have to gain from it?"

"That's the problem with mysteries and conspiracies," said Mr. Stevenson, "As soon as you unravel one, another one or a few more takes its place, all leading to one convoluted mess. The stress of moments like that was one of the reasons I retired from this job. Either that or I was getting a bit old for this.."

"That'll be something for the High Council to discuss over." said Pit, "In the meantime, how's she doing?"

Pit gestured towards Keeva. The Healing Field emitted its circular column of green light with Keeva lying in the centre of it. The healing powers of the item danced over and around her body, twinkling like tiny stars in a green haze.

"I think she's gonna be just fine shortly." said Mr. Stevenson.

* * *

It was the refreshing smell of the Healing Field that brought Keeva to full consciousness. She breathed it in through her nose at first and then through her mouth, with each inhalation she felt more invigorated. The pain within her body ebbed away as waves of tingling pleasure washed over her, almost making feel lightheaded. Keeva felt like she was floating on a cloud of tranquillity and wished she could feel like this forever. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the sky in blissful wonder. Soon all the pain in her body vanished like smoke on the wind, leaving her feeling completely at ease. Keeva let out a huge contented sigh and smiled serenely.

She felt like sleeping on the grass on such a beautiful day and with such blissful feelings around her, almost as if she was on holiday in a far away exotic land. But just as she was about to close her eyes, the green haze around her vanished and the wonderful aroma went away, replaced by fresh air and the smell of nearby flowers. A small part of her was a bit disappointed that the Healing Field had finished. Keeva took a few deep breaths before sitting upright.

"Never thought I'd experience that again." she muttered, "It feels just so good."

"How you feeling?" came the voice of Mr. Stevenson.

Keeva looked to her right and saw Mr. Stevenson standing there with what appeared to be a thirteen year old boy in ornate Greek style clothing and a pair of white wings behind his back. Keeva blinked a few times before she decided that what she was seeing was real.

"Mr. Stevenson?" said Keeva, "What are you doing here and who's the one with the wings?"

"Well, bit of a long story that." said Mr. Stevenson, "But we'll get the introductions out of the way."

"I'm Pit." said the angel, "I'm Captain of the guard for Lady Palutena and Queen Alana."

"Name's Keeva." the young woman replied, "And I'm a stranger in a quite a strange world. Though I wonder what brings you here Mr. Stevenson with him?"

"Jessica managed to find me down the road earlier." Mr. Stevenson replied, "By then I already informed the authorities and managed to catch up with them with their operation. You saved my daughter, so I thought I'd repay that debt."

Keeva felt deeply humbled by Mr. Stevenson's words. She looked at the gauntlets on her hands and snapped her fingers. The gauntlets glowed briefly and then materialised as the fingerless gloves they were.

"Anyway, the bad guys are caught and you're safe and sound." said Pit cheerily, "Oh I forgot, this is the Robotic Operating Buddy or R.O.B for short."

He gestured to R.O.B, who was watching the Miis' take away King Wart before turning its attention towards the others. Keeva looked at R.O.B warily.

"I ain't gonna lie R.O.B," she stated, "whatever you shot at that toad, really _really_ hurt.."

R.O.B lowered its head in shame. A twinge of sympathy formed inside Keeva at the sight of R.O.B looking sorry for itself. Mr. Stevenson looked at his watch and brought his coat about him.

"I've gonna take my leave now." he said, "I promised my daughter I'd meet her at the cake shop earlier."

"Yeah, thanks for everything Mr. Stevenson." said Pit.

"No worries." Mr. Stevenson replied, "Oh Keeva? Thank you for all that you've done, for me, my daughter and for everyone."

The man smiled, placed his hands in his pockets and walked away towards the trees. Keeva couldn't help but feel her cheeks warm up with pride and gratitude. Pit and R.O.B watched Mr. Stevenson go and turned their attention to Keeva.

"So Keeva," said Pit, "would you tell me how you came to Nexus to begin with please?"

It took a short while, but Keeva explained everything that happened to her ever since she arrived into the Virtual Universe. Pit looked both curious and confused to the circumstances of Keeva's arrival, something that Palutena would have better chance of understanding. The angel glanced at R.O.B and issued an order.

"R.O.B, return back to the Palace and give a full report to Queen Alana. I'll escort Keeva to the Palace myself."

"I OBEY." said R.O.B, turning on its base and gliding away back to the Palace. Pit extanded a hand to Keeva, to which she took, and helped her up onto her feet. Keeva brushed and straightened herself up.

"Is this Palace very far at all?" asked Keeva.

"The Palace is virtually in the middle of the city." Pit answered, "It'll be very hard to miss it. But I thought I'd show you around a little bit."

"Does the city have a clothes shop at all?" Keeva inquired.

"Certainly does." Pit answered, "It pretty much has everything. Though, why would you need a clothes shop?"

Keeva gestured to her torn and tattered clothes, looking more rough and rugged than she had been earlier.

"Ah, I see." said Pit, "Well, we better get on with it. Just follow me."

* * *

The angel and the young woman walked towards the trees and parted the bushes in front of them. What Keeva saw made her eyes widen and gasp aloud with wonder. In front of her was the most beautiful city she had ever seen. The buildings looked hi tech and advanced, yet maintained an essence of quaintness and simplicity to it. The vast majority of the buildings were chalk white in colour with brilliant blue and silver accents and tips. A winding rail bridge stood tall up along side the buildings, propelling a monorail along from time to time. In the centre was the Palace, standing tall and proud like an oversized white, blue and silver peacock. The city of Nexus cast the appearance of a prosperous and inviting civilisation, a shining beacon within the maelstrom of the Virtual Universe. Pit noticed Keeva staring opened mouthed and eyes wide as saucers.

"Uhh...you okay Keeva?" he asked.

"It's...it's so...beautiful..!" Keeva breathed, evident awe in her voice.

Pit looked at the city and then back at the young woman.

"It certainly is." he replied, "Just stick to me and I'll take you to where you want to go. Though, do you have money in order to get what you want?"

"Certainly have." Keeva answered, "Hopefully it should be enough."

* * *

A short while later, Pit was standing inside the building known as Style Savvy Store. It had taken them quite a while to find it, due to Keeva constantly stopping to look at almost everything in sight, her mind full of child like wonder. Quite a few times, Pit had to restrain Keeva from dashing off to have a look at something else. Eventually, Pit and Keeva had arrived at the Style Savvy Store and spent roughly twenty minutes in choosing various clothes; all of those she had chosen apparently teleported to the nearest changing room. Now, Pit was pacing up and down outside the changing room, not only waiting for Keeva to finish, but also in a telepathic conference with Palutena.

'_Are you sure this girl is an actual human? From the same Realm from where Maddox came from?_' he asked.

'_Absolutely._' said Palutena, '_All things considered, she could be our next Captain N._'

'_Really?!_' said Pit in astonishment.

'_But that possibility of that happening is still a bit uncertain._' replied Palutena, '_But I'm actually quite excited should it happen. It'll be just like the old days. Are you Pit?_'

'_Me?_' asked Pit dumbfounded, but soon recovered himself, '_Oh yeah I am! But what if it isn't? What will happen to Keeva?_'

'_Then I'll use my god-like powers to help her get back home._' Paultena responded.

'_What do you mean 'god-like'?_' said Pit, '_You are the Goddess of Light._'

'_I'm not without a few flaws here and there._' said Palutena, '_I mean, look at Medusa and Viridi; they have rather glaring flaws despite being Goddesses. But who says that a Goddess can't have a little bit of fun from time to time._'

'_As long it's doesn't involve about abusing power._' murmured Pit.

'_And why not?_' Palutena chimed, '_It's somewhat part of the job description of being a God._'

'_With all the trouble we're facing, I think that job description is in dire need of revision._' said Pit drily, '_Anyway, is the rest of the High Council and the Queen are aware of the possibility of a new Captain N?_'

'_They are and it's causing quite a stir._' said the goddess, '_It's almost on par to that time I teleported Eggplant Sorcerer into Viridi's garden once._'

'_In her __**secret vegetable**__ garden of all things._' Pit stated, '_She nearly declared war on us because of it. Does Maddox know about it?_'

'_I'm afraid he is aware of it and I don't think he's pleased about having a possible successor.._' Palutena replied.

'_I kinda have a feeling he'll react badly._' Pit agreed, '_Has R.O.B arrived at the Palace yet?_'

'_Just making the report to Queen Alana as we speak._' said Palutena, '_In the meantime, bring Keeva to the Palace when she's ready._'

'_Will do Lady Palutena!_' said Pit cheerily, feeling the telepathic link cut out as the discussion ended.

The curtain of the changing room cubicle slid to one side, revealing Keeva in her brand new clothes. She wore a pair of mid blue denim jeans with the bottom parts turned upwards, a black and white pair of slip-on trainers, a lavender t-shirt and a dark grey sturdy hooded zipper. On the back of her zipper was an icon in five colours. The icon was shaped like a hand-held controller for a video game console. It appeared to be double handled with two squares in the centre divided by a thick black line. One handle was yellow with the square adjacent to it being bright blue. On the other side, the handle was green and the adjacent square being red. Through the blue and red squares were two black lines that seemed to spell out the letter 'N' when joined together. A black belt with a gold belt buckle hugged around her hips through her jeans. The fingerless gloves on her hands seemed to finish off her overall look. Pit looked over her new outfit with approval.

"Looking pretty cool Keeva!" he chimed.

"Thanks Pit!" said Keeva, "I feel a bit more like myself again, especially after what happened today."

"That's great to hear." said Pit, "Let's head over to the Palace, shall we?"


	8. Chapter 7

Meanwhile back at the Palace, news of the 8 Bit Gangs' capture went around like wildfire. There were great sighs of relief as they were renowned for causing havoc wherever they went. After the hubbub had died down, the main question was brought to the fore; how did they escaped and who was it that set them free. It was a matter that the Nexus High Council will have to discuss and address. After R.O.B gave its report and further news from Palutena, Queen Alana had ordered R.O.B to carry on with its duties and Palutena to reconvene the meeting with the High Council about the news. When she was alone within her chambers, Queen Alana sat down on a chair that faced the window and closed her eyes. She almost felt drained by the events of today, as if everything was moving at a hundred miles per hour; the news of a person falling from the sky, Maddox opening up a little bit of his past, the presence of the 8 Bit Gang and now the news of the Sol Realm on the point of environmental collapse due to the Jeweled Scepter being stolen.

'_So fast…everything's happening so fast.._' she thought to herself, '_Daddy made it look so easy…why did I have to inherit the throne so fast and so young? Why did you have to ascend as a Spirit and leave me on my own?_'

Queen Alana's fingers traced and danced idly over the neck of her staff. She opened her eyes and looked out at the view that the windows of her personal chambers showed. The city continued to function as if in a perpetual time of peace. But Queen Alana and the High Council knew otherwise. She knew that it would be only a matter of time before the forces of evil would unite and attempt to conquer Nexus. The Realm itself was the focal point where the fabric of reality is relative fluid, allowing easy access to almost any other Realm within controlled methods. Should Nexus ever be overrun by the forces of evil, the sanctity and security of the other Realms would be severely comprised and the damage that they could inflict would be unthinkable. The Queen let out a long sigh as her heart sank with pity for the people of Nexus, knowing that they, the High Council and even the whole Realm was running on borrowed time and it was slowly running out…

* * *

Within his laboratory, Maddox watched the travel into the Tartarus Realm in motion on a small monitor screen. A squad of ten Mii's in security outfits were herding the 8 Bit Gang into the Warp Portal leading into the Tartarus Realm. Though Maddox couldn't hear anything, he can tell that the criminals were protesting and whining about the whole ordeal. Only King Wart didn't protest or lash out, evidently fuming with rage of his supposed freedom being taken away from him again. One by one, the 8 Bit Gang were forced into the portal, with King Wart being the last one to go in along with the rest of the Mii's. The Warp Portal soon closed and winked out of existence. Maddox switched off the feed to the monitor and sat back into his chair. Ever since he let out his feelings about his long (and emotionally painful) ten years back in the real world, Maddox felt a slight weight being lifted off his shoulders. But it only served to strengthen his resolve about his way of sorting out the Virtual universes' problems. Plus the prospect of someone else of being his previous role of Captain N rang a sour note within him, adding more of the metaphorical salt into his deeply wounded pride.

Maddox's eyes went towards the thick metal tube that he eyed upon earlier before he went into the secret Warp Portal a short while ago. Only he knew what it contained and it seemed to be calling to him more often. The man recalled a quote he read about in a book back in the real world; '**Anger can keep you warm at night, and wounded pride can spur a man to wondrous things.**'

'_No truer words said._' He thought to himself.

The man stood up and strolled towards the metal tube, stretching out a hand to stroke it. He suddenly stopped as something caught his eye in the reflection of the metal tube. It looked to be a figure standing behind him, but it was heavily distorted. Maddox looked behind him and saw nothing. His dark green eyes scanned the laboratory, suddenly feeling on edge. In the back of his mind, he wondered if it was that strange silver furred Mobian hedgehog that tried to kill him a few years ago. He remembered it saying that it was from the future and had come to prevent a catastrophe from happening. It was due to sheer luck and with the assistance from Queen Alana and the others that saved his life and managed to drive the hedgehog away. But the words that it left before it vanished had left almost everyone deeply rattled. Maddox felt the words come back to him and shuddered as they echoed in his mind.

'_**All of you are making a serious mistake. If you continue down this path, then you'll be dooming the Virtual universe and he's the cause of it! I hope you'll be prepared to reap in what you've sown because you have no idea what's coming..**_'

Maddox shook his head to clear his thoughts. He put it down to him not having much hydration for a while. Maddox strolled to the sink, switched on the cold water tap and placed a beaker underneath it. He almost let it overflow over the top before he turned off the tap. Bringing the beaker to his lips, Maddox drank deeply, some of it spilling from his lips onto his chin. After having his fill, Maddox let out a sigh of contentment. He replaced the beaker and looked at himself in the mirror above the sink. Noticing that his face was slightly dirty, Maddox ran the taps of the sink again and cupped his hands to hold the water. Splashing on his face, he washed himself before looking down to see the drops of water drip into the sink. He took a few deep breaths and looked up at the mirror. He let out a gasp of shock at what he saw. Maddox didn't see his reflection in the mirror, but something terrifying.

It was slightly distorted and seemed to be looking at him with sneering disdain. It was human looking but clearly something out of a nightmare. It had deathly white skin, a bald head with what appeared to be a dark grey metal apparatus over its ears and scalp. The device looked like it had been fused onto is skin, leaving faint purple bruises at the edges. Its teeth were near yellow-white stubs that almost seemed to protrude from a lipless mouth. But worst of all were the eyes; the sclera was jet black with iris being bright red. The pupils were twin small dots of dark red. The eyes of the being were like that of a demon.

Maddox let out a cry of alarm as the being in the mirror bared its teeth in a grimacing smile, almost as if it was laughing at him. Maddox blinked and shook his head furiously. When he looked at the mirror again, he was looking at his normal reflection. For a short while, the only sound that Maddox heard was the beating of his own heart. He was disturbed by the sight of that demonic being in the mirror, but was relieved to see that it was gone. Eventually Maddox put it down to him not getting much sleep as of late. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he gathered his thoughts together. The man glanced at the computer and his brow furrowed as if coming to decision.

'_Everything is ready for operation._' He thought, '_But I have gotta try once more. If Alana and those idiots don't listen…then what happens next will be the result of their stupidity.._'

With newfound determination, Maddox straightened himself and walked out of his laboratory, preparing for another verbal sparring match with the Queen.

* * *

It was sometime later before Pit arrived back at the Palace with Keeva in tow. The angel had a somewhat difficult task of keeping Keeva within his sight due to her wanting to check out everything that caught her inquisitive eyes. On one hand, he couldn't fault her for her curiosity to know more about Nexus, but he knew he had a duty to perform and would make it his mission not to let anyone down, whether it be Palutena or even Queen Alana. He could feel his legs starting to ache from the mission of the day and from chasing after Keeva when she goes off in a random direction to look at something wonderful in her eyes, but normal to his. Pit fancied himself a nice juicy burger with a drink and a bowl of ice cream when he gets to the cafeteria.

Now he and Keeva were standing in front of the huge doors leading into the Palace, awaiting to be let in. Keeva looked up at the tall towers and spires adorning the white and blue Palace. She felt that despite looking regal and full of splendour, the Palace was still a part of the city. To her knowledge, Keeva saw castles and palaces as separate and aloof from other towns and cities; serving as symbols of authority whether they be for good or bad. She also wondered what the reigning monarch would be like as a person. A few clanking noises indicated that the doors were opening. Keeva straightened and dusted herself off, wanting to look as presentable as possible.

"Anything that I need to know before I step inside?" asked Keeva.

"Yeah, don't wander off or stray too far." said Pit, "The Palace can sometimes act like a maze."

The doors swung inwards, revealing a vast corridor with Mii guards standing to attention. Coming slowly towards the pair was R.O.B, regarding both of them like a surveillance camera before stopping a short distance away from them.

"What's the latest news around here R.O.B?" asked Pit.

"THE 8 BIT GANG HAVE BEEN RETURNED TO THEIR PRISON IN THE TARTARUS REALM." said R.O.B, "THE COUNCIL HAS GONE INTO A TEMPORARY RECESS."

"Any word about who and how they got out in the first place?" Pit inquired.

"INVESTIGATIONS ARE STILL ONGOING." R.O.B answered, "NO FURTHER INFORMATION AVALIABLE."

"I see." said Pit, "Is Queen Alana nearby?"

"THE QUEEN IS IN HER PERSONAL CHAMBERS." the robot replied, "SHE WILL EMERGE WHENEVER SHE IS READY."

'_A Queen?_' Keeva thought, '_That's a bit of a first. Let's hope that she's the reasonable type._'

"Hmm…maybe a visit to the gallery might help pass the time." Pit suggested, "Care to lead the way R.O.B? I told Keeva that this place is a bit like a maze and I don't want her to get lost."

"I OBEY." said R.O.B, turning on the spot and glided smoothly toward the direction of the gallery.

Keeva and Pit walked at a measure pace behind the robot, passing through various corridors and windows that showed the outside world. Keeva's eyes and head were never still for a second, always looking around with wonder and curiosity. The Palace reminded her of one the fantastical castles that she saw on various animated movies when she was a child. A slight chill ran through her as she recalled the happier moments in her life and how precious they are now to her more than ever. Throughout most of her life, Keeva wanted to make her life better and to at least find some form purpose along the way. Compared to the hardships she had go through in the real world, Keeva now saw the Virtual universe as a new opportunity.

'_..Keeva.._' came the familiar ghostly voice in Keeva's head.

The young woman stiffened slightly but kept on walking, not wishing to draw that much attention to herself.

'_That voice again!_' she thought to herself, '_What does it want this time?_'

'_..Seek out the danger.._' said the voice, '_Save everyone…and forge your path and destiny.._'

'_But how?_' Keeva thought, '_What should I do and how to do it?_'

But the voice faded away before she could get answer, echoing and reverberating within her mind. Keeva wondered if she was going insane from the trauma of her arrival and might end up in a psychiatric ward for her possible delusions. Then a voice rang out that brought her back to reality.

"Keeva?"

It was Pit. Though he spoke normally, but to Keeva, it sounded like a gunshot within a small tunnel, causing her to flinch slightly. Pit raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

"You alright?" asked Pit, "You looked like you've seen a ghost and seemed to be miles away."

"Oh! I'm fine.." said Keeva unconvincingly, "It's just that all of this and what happened earlier…it's a lot to take in.."

Though Pit wasn't entirely convinced, he nodded in acceptance, knowing that she had been through a lot ever since she arrived. Eventually R.O.B stopped in front of a door, went up to the control panel, typed in a code and inched backwards. The door opened inwards, revealing a large circular room with tall rectangular tapestries upon the wall. Each one depicted a different scenario and event in various colours. A bright clear light shone from above via a chandelier-like light. R.O.B glided on the smooth marble floor and parked to one side, allowing Pit and Keeva access inside. Keeva stood in the centre of the room and looked around at the tapestries, marvelling at the craftsmanship that went into the making of them. She harkened the gallery to a sacred room with stained glass windows within a cathedral. Keeva felt that the only thing that was missing in this room was a curator. Pit stood by her side and grinned.

"Amazing, isn't it?" he chimed.

"You've got that right." said Keeva, "These tapestries, are they like telling a story or are they like chronicles of the past?"

"More towards the latter to be honest." said Pit, "I should know because I was there during those days."

Keeva raised an eyebrow, wondering if Pit was older than he looked. R.O.B's grating metallic voice rang out, echoing through the chamber and making Keeva shiver slightly.

"SHALL I INFORM THE QUEEN OF YOUR ARRIVAL AND OF YOUR LOCATION?"

"Hmm…best to be on the safe side R.O.B." said Pit, "We'll stay here until she arrives."

"I OBEY." R.O.B grated, gliding away from the room and heading towards the Queen's personal chambers.

"I don't if I can get used to that voice." said Keeva, watching R.O.B go with some trepidation.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much." said Pit, "R.O.B is just the way it is really. Anyway, I imagine you have some questions that need answering."

"Understatement of the day." Keeva quipped, "First of all, is Nexus the name of the city?"

"Kinda yes and no." said Pit, "Nexus is the official name of this Realm and this is the major settlement. Lady Palutena knows all of the finer details."

"Like a Lady-in-waiting?" asked Keeva.

"Not sure what that means, but no." Pit answered, "Lady Palutena is the Goddess of Light and the one I serve loyally. Though she can be a bit of a trickster at times, but she's good."

"I didn't know there were gods or any other deities in this universe." Keeva remarked.

"There are plenty of them, each different from the other and within their own Realms." Pit answered.

"So there are more Realms out there." said Keeva, "Is it possible to get to any of the other Realms? If so, how?"

"Through Warp Portals." explained Pit, "They're kinda like tunnels that go through the Virtual Warp that lead from one place to another."

"Sounds like something from a sci-fi programme to me." Keeva commented.

"What's a sci-fi programme?" asked Pit, slightly confused.

"Oh, never mind. Forget I said that." said Keeva, feeling a little awkward after mentioning it, "But should something like require a power source or some kind?"

Before Pit can answer, an intense beam of light suddenly appeared in the room, causing the pair to shield their eyes. A figure soon materialised from the pillar of light and casually walked forwards towards them. The pillar of light vanished suddenly, revealing the figure to be Palutena. Keeva was taken aback at Palutena's beauty and the air of authority she had on her. The young woman almost straight away could tell that Palutena was not only regal and powerful, but also possessed the uncommon combination of wisdom and cunning. Instantly Pit went up to her and kneeled on one knee.

"Lady Palutena." he announced, bowing his head respectfully.

"Okay, that'll do Pit." Palutena chuckled, lightly ruffling his hair, "I see you've been giving our guest a guided tour I see."

Pit stood up to attention, almost flapping his wings happily. Palutena's green eyes took in Keeva, who was standing still yet uneasy. She flashed the young woman a reassuring smile and walked towards her. As much as she enjoys the odd joke and prank now and again, Palutena can see that the newcomer would be alienated further if the goddess were to pull one or a few on her.

"So, you're the one that fell from the sky today." said Palutena, "Do you have a name?"

"My name's Keeva." the young woman responded.

"Delighted to meet you." Palutena replied cheerily, "Liking the Palace?"

"From what I've seen so far, it's very impressive." said Keeva.

"Of course there's much more to see of this place." said Palutena, "But imagine that'll take a good couple of days to explore the place fully."

"Told you that this Palace is like a maze." muttered Pit.

"Almost like the Underworld Fortresses that you've fought through back in the day." said Palutena.

"Except the Palace doesn't have a fiery serpent, a large skull with wings and a Minotaur roaming around like a couple of bosses." remarked Pit, "To which you kinda forget to mention beforehand."

Palutena grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head in awkwardness.

"I will admit, it was a minor yet rather egregious omission on my part." she explained, "But we all pulled through in the end."

"That we did," said Pit, "but I had to spend a whole day in a Hot Spring from all the bruises and plucked feathers that I received from that."

"Anyway, moving on from that." Palutena suggested, seeing the bemused and confused look on Keeva's face, "I can see you have so many questions that need answering. The best way to approach that is to start at the beginning."

The Goddess of Light gestured to a tapestry with her staff, making Keeva look at where she was pointing at. The picture depicted a huge orb of golden-white light with red, blue, green and yellow faint wisps emanating from it. Below it was a man clad in ornate white and red robes with his hands held upwards as if appealing to the heavens. To Keeva, the man in the tapestry looked like he was worshiping a sun or something similar to it.

"Is that a sun he's worshipping or creating?" asked Keeva.

"Not quite." Pit explained, "That 'sun' is actually that man's creation and the main power source of Nexus. Umm...what was the name of it again?"

"The Oculus of Unity." said Palutena, "The singularity when enables the use of Virtual Warp travel from this Realm to another or even from one Realm to the other."

"Singularity? Isn't that like a black hole or something?" Keeva inquired.

"That's right, yes." said the Goddess of Light, "But back then when this Realm was first founded and before our time, the technology and magic that was used have stabilised it and used its tremendous powers to allow the use of Virtual Warp travel. This Realm is literally at the centre of the Virtual universe, hence why it's known as Nexus. The man who created the Oculus was known as Atarius, who was also the founder of Nexus."

Keeva hid her surprise well after hearing the name being mentioned. She looked up at the tapestry in awe, finding it hard to believe that she had a conversation with the founder of Nexus whilst she was unconscious earlier. The young woman had to metaphorically bite her tongue to contain her excitement, for fear of being ridiculed. Keeva's eyes roamed and settled on something that instantly caught her eye. The tapestry a little further down had the picture of a young man in a heroic pose. He looked handsome and had the toothy smile of a Hollywood movie star. He had dark brown hair, green eyes and well chiselled chin and face. He wore a mid-red and white baseball jacket with the letter 'N' stencilled on the right hand side. The zip of the jacket was undone, revealing a goldenrod yellow mock turtleneck t-shirt underneath. A pair of mid-blue denim jeans adorned the man's legs, complimented by a pair of pale black and white trainers. The young man looked like for all of the world the archetype for the All-American Hero type of person; radiating charm and charisma. Keeva felt almost drawn in by the picture, almost charmed by the appearance of the young man.

"Who's this good looking guy?" asked Keeva.

"That is Maddox, the previous Virtual Champion." said Pit.

"Virtual Champion?" repeated Keeva, looking over at Pit, "Like a superhero?"

"Aye, though everyone tends to call him Captain N." said Pit, "It's a catchy version of that title and has been passed down from one to the next."

"Captain N?" Keeva echoed, turning back to face the tapestry, "Certainly fits him with that outfit."

"He certainly was back in the day." said Palutena, her voice tinged with nostalgia and melancholy, "But he was only the second Captain N in the history of the Virtual universe."

The Goddess of Light pointed to another tapestry with her staff, to which Keeva looked over towards. The tapestry she pointed at depicted another young man in a heroic pose. But the person looked to be Japanese and had a stoic and serious air about him. He had short black spiky hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a black leather jacket, a white t-shirt with grey accents, a pair of dark blue jeans and black trainers. Keeva tilted her head slightly, feeling an aura of solemn respect emanating from it.

"Who's he?" Keeva asked.

"Satoru Ninomiya, the very first Virtual Champion." said Palutena, "He was quite the hero back in the day, though it was slightly before our time."

"He seems to be the serious type to me." said Keeva.

"He wasn't always like that to be honest." said Pit, "He did have his moments."

"To be fair, Satoru was a pacifist by nature." Palutena explained, "He would only fight if there was no other way."

"Sounds like a fair policy to me." Keeva commented, "But, where and how the title of Captain N came about?"

"Actually, that's a good question." said Pit, "Do you know that answer Lady Palutena?"

"That I do Pit." Palutena replied cheerily, "Satoru was sometimes called Captain by his friends and allies due to his calm decision making and leadership skills. The 'N' part came from his surname and so they put two and two together and the title of Captain N was born."

Keeva digested the information with keen interest. She looked upon the image of Satoru for a little bit before returning her gaze upon the picture of Maddox. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that there were more tapestries depicting Maddox in various battles with unknown enemies and sometimes in the company of allies. Wanting to see more to satisfy her curiosity, Keeva slowly walked along the edges of the room, looking at each tapestry in turn. The next one she saw was Maddox with five individuals; one of them was Pit, another looked like a 10 year old boy with blue eyes wearing a light blue skin-tight bodysuit with dark blue large rounded coverings on the lower arms and legs, and 'superhero briefs'. The blue individual had one hand formed into the shape of large cannon.

The next individual looked like a very muscular man with flowing blonde hair and carrying a long chain whip with a morning star barb at the end. The man wore a brown leather breastplate, brown shorts, tall boots lined with fur and a brown leather and silver bandana. Keeva had the impression that the man looked like a combination of a barbarian and a crusader.

The fourth individual looked like a pale skinned male elf, barely approaching his teens and clad in a green tunic and hat. In his hands were an ornate shield and a magnificent looking sword.

The last individual looked like a stocky young man who with a large round face and round nose, slightly tanned skin, chocolate brown hair and a black moustache. He wore a long-sleeved red shirt which is tucked under a pair of white gloves, a pair of blue overalls with yellow buttons and a pair of light brown work shoes.

"So, how long had Maddox been Captain N for?" asked Keeva.

"About nine years if I remember rightly." said Pit, "The longest running so far."

"And how long Satoru was as Captain N?" Keeva inquired.

"I'm not sure if it was five or six years." Palutena answered, "But he forced himself to step down due to a crisis of faith and beliefs."

"Did something awful happen?" Keeva asked, turning to face the goddess.

"Like I said, Satoru was a pacifist by nature." Palutena explained, "He wasn't the type to jump into a fight unless there was no other choice. As the years went by, the villains of the Virtual universe were getting more despicable and aggressive, often forcing Satoru to dismiss his nature in order to save the day. It ultimately got to a point where he couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want to become something that he wasn't and went against everything he believed in. He had stated that what the Virtual universe needed was a fighter, one who can truly take the fight to the enemy. And so he forsook the title of Virtual Champion and disappeared into the Virtual universe."

"Poor guy.." said Pit.

Keeva couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Satoru due to the circumstances and crisis of beliefs. As she walked around the edges of the room, Keeva took in the finer details of the tapestries of Maddox in the middle of some fantastical battle.

"Was Maddox immediately chosen after Satoru stepped down?" Keeva inquired.

"Not quite." Pit answered, "We lasted a nearly a full year before Maddox came here and was chosen. He was the hero for nine years. He achieved many wondrous things and sometimes made the impossible possible."

"And like most great heroes, Maddox was quite insufferable at times." Palutena commented, "He'd have this habit of announcing his entrances into a battle while introducing himself with some over-the-top boast."

Keeva halted her walk around the room and placed her hands in her pockets.

"Okay, let's hear one of them." she said.

"Here's one I remember the most." said Palutena, then she spoke in her best masculine voice, "'I am the justice that walks through the Realms! I am the arcade machine that eats up all your quarters! I am Captain N!'"

Keeva didn't whether to either groan with exasperation or laugh out loud from such a boast. She saw that Pit had a look of nostalgia on his face.

"I remember that one too well." said Pit, "He had loads of them. They all started with 'I'm the justice that walks through the Realms', then he'll come up with something different for the middle before finishing with him being Captain N. Here's another one; 'I am the coconut that lands on your thick head!'."

"What about this one; 'I am the zookeeper that puts you back in your cage!'." Palutena chimed.

"Oh yeah! Nearly forgot about that one!" said Pit, "Here's one; 'I am the grime and filth that clogs up your Warp Pipes!'."

Keeva had to grimace, not only from the ridiculous boasts but also from the descriptive nature of the last one. She placed the palm of her hand over her face and dragged it down slowly.

"I know, pretty painful." said Pit.

"I can see why he would be considered insufferable." Keeva replied, "But the question is why would he do something like this?"

"It's mainly down to psychology." Palutena explained, "He does it either unnerve or to infuriate his opponents into making a mistake."

"Really? I thought he does it just to make an entrance." Pit inquired.

"Or maybe it could be all of the above." Palutena suggested, "Anyway, I'm going to have to rearrange the Council meeting now. I shall catch you both later."

Palutena began to glow in a blue-white light and in a blink of an eye, she was gone. Keeva had to blink a few times to check if it wasn't a trick of the light. She glanced at Pit, who was stretching his arms and wings out to ease them.

"She's quite the walking encyclopaedia, isn't she?" said Pit.

"You're telling me." Keeva replied, "So, is Maddox still around or has he moved on?"

Pit rubbed the back of his head in awkwardness as he answered, his tone somewhat uneasy.

"Well, yeah.. But it's not quite all sunshine and rainbows to be honest.."

Before Keeva can ask and for Pit to answer, a set of loud footsteps rang out and stopped abruptly at the entrance of the gallery. Keeva turned on the spot to see the newcomer at the doorway and standing there glowering at them was Maddox. Keeva had to supress a gasp of shock at the man's appearance. The face, the eyes and the hair was right, but the age wasn't. Instead of the bright, cocky and can-do-wrong young man she was expecting to see, all she saw was a literal shadow of his former self, a faded grey copy of the man he once was. The young woman glanced at Pit and noticed his look of unease. She slowly felt her heart plummet and forced herself to look back at man that was once Captain N. Maddox looked like he had forced his somewhat out of shape body into his scientist outfit as if it could barely contained him. His once bright green eyes were now dark and narrow in a perpetual look of scorn, bitterness held barely in check. Maddox's dark brown hair was thinning with a few faint strips of grey adorning it. Semi-deep wrinkles lined parts of his face, betraying his age and almost erasing his boyish looks. To Keeva, Maddox looked both a physical and emotional wreck. Maddox looked at Keeva up and down and his eyes were almost immediately drawn towards the gloves that she wore.

"Where did you get those gloves?!" he barked.

Keeva almost flinched at the sound of his voice. Pit also flinched but soon regained himself.

"Whoa there Maddox!" said Pit defensively, "She only just-"

"Shut up Chicken-Wings!" Maddox snapped, "Besides I wasn't talking to you. Now, where did you get those gloves?"

"I...I found them.." said Keeva in a slightly shaky voice.

"Found them where?!" Maddox demanded.

"Look, just take it easy Maddox." said Pit evenly.

"I said I wasn't talking to you!" Maddox growled, glaring at the angel, "Do yourself useful and fly away!"

Not wishing to get into a full blown argument with Maddox, Pit sighed and started to walk out of the gallery, He gave Keeva a sympathetic look before he walked off down the corridor, not before glaring at Maddox. The man turned his attention at Keeva.

"Now, where did you find the Neo-Switch Gloves?" he asked firmly.

Not wishing to be intimidated, Keeva straightened herself and met his gaze.

"I found them within a fancy sphere in a lake outside the city." she answered, "If they are yours, then I'll hand them back to you. But know this; I will not tolerate anyone talk to any of my friends like the way you've did."

Maddox scowled, somewhat perturbed of Keeva not being afraid of him. Keeva calmly walked forwards, took off the gloves and held them out in one hand. The man snatched them roughly from Keeva's hand, making her gasp with shock. He wrinkled his nose derisively and was about to walk off with them when the gloves suddenly glowed blue. To Maddox's astonishment, the gloves dematerialised from his hand and formed into a small cloud of light blue lights. It went towards Keeva and covered her hands like blue pixie dust. To their surprise, the blue lights formed into the fingerless form of the Neo-Switch Gloves and then suddenly dispersed, revealing the gloves in their entirety. Keeva looked at them in wonder, flexing and wiggling her fingers. Maddox looked stunned for a moment before his scowl returned to his face.

"Okay, what just happened there?" said Keeva in bewilderment.

Maddox ground each word like it was a piece of broken glass as he answered.

"It seems that the gloves have tuned themselves to your bio-signature. It means that only you can take them off and no-one else can take them off you. Also, they'll never remain far away from you. Huh! Congratulations(!) They're yours now!"

Maddox stormed off down the corridor leaving the young woman alone in the gallery. Keeva stood still, shocked at the audacity and aggression that Maddox had expressed towards her and Pit. To Keeva, the experience of seeing what Maddox was like now, was like a young fan of a particular franchise looking forward to meet his or her favourite actor in the flesh, only to find out that that actor was now an old, grizzled and very bitter person. It almost broke Keeva's heart to see such a wonderful person that did so much as Captain N reduced to a shell of his former glory and trapped in a state of perpetual cynicism and thinly veiled anger. Despite experiencing the brunt of his simmering temper, the young woman couldn't help but feel a great amount of sympathy for Maddox for what he has now become. She had a feeling that something terrible must've happened to Maddox for him to be as he is now.

'_What have I gotten myself in for?_' she thought.

Keeva placed her hands in her pockets and stood looking around at the numerous tapestries, suddenly feeling lonely and melancholy to await for the arrival of the Queen.


End file.
